Drexel "greening" pays off
Editorial Board
Issue date: 7/11/08 Section: Ed-Op
The Triangle Editorial Board is pleased to congratulate Drexel University for placing first in Pennsylvania and ninth in the nation for partial campus recycling programs. The award comes from a program called "Recycle Mania" and is sponsored by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In the contest, 400 colleges and universities competed in various eco-friendly categories for waste minimization and targeted programs at materials such as bottles, cans or paper.
Drexel took the top spot in the Pennsylvania partial campus division for producing the least amount of "municipal solid waste" as defined by the EPA.
"This competition is intended to reward those schools that generate the least amount of waste and recyclables, emphasizing reuse and source reduction over recycling," the Recycle Mania rules explain.
We applaud this effort and are specifically pleased to see us place in that category.
The reason Drexel placed in the "partial campus" division and not the "whole campus" division is because the Center City campus is not fully controlled by Drexel. We are a tenant in the property, according to Tobey Oxholm, executive vice president and chief of staff.
It is promising to see Drexel finally taking environmental issues seriously and placing in national contests.
With that in mind, if we are going to continue on this path, students must take the lead.
Entering contests is not all Drexel has done on recycling. Ten "Big Belly" solar powered trash compactors have been installed around campus.
"With enough student support, we can get the University to double this number," James Katsaounis, executive director of communications in the division of Student Life and Administrative Services, wrote in an e-mail.
Drexel's student chapter of the Sierra Club recently praised the administration for this effort. In e-mail to campus officials, the Sierra Club said the efforts are making "recycling a priority."
We strongly agree and echo the Sierra Club's call.
In addition to recycling, we all need to engage the administration, student groups and each other to find new ways to reduce our impact on the planet.
If enough students support the "green" programs, they will grow. We all deserve credit for our progress but we must not forget that the success of these programs is in our hands.
For the full results of the contest, visit http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/results.aspx.
Drexel took the top spot in the Pennsylvania partial campus division for producing the least amount of "municipal solid waste" as defined by the EPA.
"This competition is intended to reward those schools that generate the least amount of waste and recyclables, emphasizing reuse and source reduction over recycling," the Recycle Mania rules explain.
We applaud this effort and are specifically pleased to see us place in that category.
The reason Drexel placed in the "partial campus" division and not the "whole campus" division is because the Center City campus is not fully controlled by Drexel. We are a tenant in the property, according to Tobey Oxholm, executive vice president and chief of staff.
It is promising to see Drexel finally taking environmental issues seriously and placing in national contests.
With that in mind, if we are going to continue on this path, students must take the lead.
Entering contests is not all Drexel has done on recycling. Ten "Big Belly" solar powered trash compactors have been installed around campus.
"With enough student support, we can get the University to double this number," James Katsaounis, executive director of communications in the division of Student Life and Administrative Services, wrote in an e-mail.
Drexel's student chapter of the Sierra Club recently praised the administration for this effort. In e-mail to campus officials, the Sierra Club said the efforts are making "recycling a priority."
We strongly agree and echo the Sierra Club's call.
In addition to recycling, we all need to engage the administration, student groups and each other to find new ways to reduce our impact on the planet.
If enough students support the "green" programs, they will grow. We all deserve credit for our progress but we must not forget that the success of these programs is in our hands.
For the full results of the contest, visit http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/results.aspx.
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