Editorial: Recycling program shows promising change for community, environment

Recycling bins were distributed last week to rooms on the first and second floors of Oklahoma United Methodist Hall.

The process of obtaining the bins was more painful than it had to be, due to a veto and leadership transitions, but the bins are a great step toward making OCU more environmentally-friendly.

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Alumnus Ken Williams and members of the Repurposing Club first presented a bill last year to put bins in every room of Methodist Hall. SGA President Nic Rhodes vetoed the bill in February 2017, suggesting a smaller pilot program. The Repurposing Club was left without a president after Williams graduated, so Young Democrats had to buy the bins instead. They were purchased in September.

Students with the bins should take advantage of this opportunity to recycle easily. Students don’t have to empty the bins themselves, so there is no excuse to throw away recyclables, at least until the bins are full.

Since the bill was presented as a pilot program, the recycling effort could continue to grow. If students use the bins correctly and they are emptied routinely, the program could be expanded.

Small bins in every room can become costly and time-consuming to empty, so fewer, larger bins could offer a good alternative. More students could recycle if each floor of Methodist Hall contained larger recycling bins labeled for certain products. Though less convenient than personal bins, larger containers could further the effort to go green more quickly.

A similar system of large recycling bins could work effectively on the floors of Walker Hall dormitory and the stairwells of Banning Hall dormitory. It might be harder to implement the system in Cokesbury Court Apartments due to the distance between rooms, but even a few more recycling options near the Cokesbury Clubhouse would help the effort.

The Methodist Hall bins are a great start, but students need to use them properly and consider what further options are available to reduce OCU’s carbon footprint even more.