Creation Care Club fights for students to reduce, reuse and recycle
Dr. Murl Dirksen, Mr. Larry Berry and Dr. Katherine Carlson-Eastvold discuss the possibilities and consequences of bringing recycling to Lee University
Photo by John David Clark, Photography Editor
Recycling efforts have been tried and tried again on Lee’s campus with no real luck, but this club thinks they might have a lasting solution.
The Creation Care Club said they believe a new focus may finally bring resolution to the school's recycling battle.
Despite the lack of a formal system, recycling is not completely absent from campus. Some individuals recycle on their own, certain events offer recycling options and many academic buildings have bins available. But outside of isolated pockets, there is no campus-wide commitment to recycling. Programs from years past have failed due to lack of student engagement.
The CCC said they hope a new perspective will lead to long-term results. Instead of the all-or-nothing approach taken before, the club said they believe small steps towards student involvement can lead to a concerted effort and a greener Lee.
CCC president Torah Harding-Laman said recycling should be emphasized as a value in response to the damage caused by neglect of the environment.
“I think, if we learn from the past, we are better equipped to implement a recycling program,” Harding-Laman said. “It really just takes making environmental stewardship a priority, which I think is becoming more of a cultural value since we are now seeing the harmful consequences caused by the excessive waste we produce.”
The CCC hosted an event concerning recycling on Sept. 25 with a panel consisting of Professor of Anthropology and Sociology Dr. Murl Dirksen, Director of Physical Plant and Building Services Larry Berry, and Assistant Professor of English and CCC faculty sponsor Dr. Katherine Carlson. They discussed the importance of recycling and what action is needed to start a prosperous program.
Dirksen explained that he has seen many attempts at recycling fall flat during his 37 years at Lee, particularly because students and faculty alike had mixed up what materials went where or simply threw trash in the recycling bins.
“People didn’t respect the bin,” Dirksen said. “It was difficult to sustain. And ultimately, it fell to Physical Plant.”
Berry deals with the technical aspects of recycling as head of Physical Plant and said, in the past, keeping up with it has not been feasible. After seeing the numerous recycling programs come and go, Berry said he boils down the issue to one thing: commitment.
“Some days we can handle picking up recycling. Some days we can’t,” Berry said. “No one is against it, but no one is continuously interested.”
Lee students seem to generally support the idea of recycling. Several students have expressed that they would recycle if given the chance. According to Dirksen, however, it will take more than theoretical commitment to maintain a steady recycling system. He said it needs to be integrated into the culture.
Carlson said she has seen a concern for environmental issues grow among students since the CCC’s establishment five years ago. Since then, recycling has been a frequently discussed issue within the club.
However, Lee’s history with recycling programs consists of numerous false starts. According to Berry, three different recycling companies have tried to take on Lee over the past eight years.
“Every one of them comes in with guns blazing,” Berry said. “They’ve got a number of people who are going to recycle, and they think they’ll make a fortune off of Lee.”
But after a few months, he explained, difficult access to bins and messy, mixed-up materials led to the companies charging Lee for recycling, which the budget could not absorb. Berry suggested that starting small may be the secret to large-scale progress.
“We can start in the dorms first and show a successful pattern, then move to academic buildings. It will be a lot easier to ask for funds if we can show a good history,” Berry said. “I would love to see the day when dorms compete against each other.”
The panel suggested another way to fund a recycling program would involve redirecting money saved from reducing energy consumption on campus, such as turning off lights, unplugging electronics and taking shorter showers. According to Harding-Laman, such small adjustments can make a big change.
“Collectively changing our daily life habits and making environmental stewardship a part of our campus culture will make the world of difference,” Harding-Laman said.
For more information about the CCC’s recycling mission, email Harding-Laman at thardi02@leeu.edu. Additionally, to learn more about recycling, visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website.
