I came to Furman with a very narrow idea of the importance of recycling. I had worked with the recycling club at my high school, but this was solely for extra credit in my environmental class. I never really understood what kind of real effect one person's recycling had on global efforts.

Some see the act of recycling as just a “temporary fix” or “a too little, too late” solution to our pollution problem that we have worldwide, which is partially true. Waste management has a huge impact on the well-being of future generations, but the recycling industry can only do so much. Without committed participants who are properly educated on what and where to recycle, how will this goal of limiting our waste output be accomplished?

Based on where you live, where you work, or where you got to school, there are specific guidelines as to what can be recycled. On Furman’s campus, we recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard, as well as composting on the farm. Each recycling bin should be labeled with the intended material or as "comingle" which means they can all go together. Some more modern bins even have a circle shape for cans and bottles or a slit for paper products. It doesn't get much easier than this, people.

Glass is no longer recycled in Greenville due to its high cost and low yields. It’s just thrown away now. It seems a bit unsustainable that venders, even on Furman’s campus, are still selling glass-bottled drinks when there is no longer a way to recycle them. Yes, recycling is effective in a sense that it takes waste away from landfills, but it’s up to us, as consumers, to decide what additional waste we add to the ever-growing landfill and pollution issue.

Is bottled water really better than tap? Whether it be bottled in plastic or glass, it’s much more sustainable to cut down on unnecessary factors of consumption like this. Do you really have to drink water from a Dasani or a Deer Park or an Aquafina plastic water bottle? No, you don't. You really don't.

Recycling is completely up to you. No one is going to make you recycle. No one is going to make you switch to more sustainable methods of living. But avoiding products that use excessive packaging, recyclable or not, can be the difference in the survival rates of organisms in marine ecosystems, as well as lowering your ecological footprint.

So next time you're feeling lazy and are considering just tossing your dinner leftovers or trash in the recycling bin or vice versa, throwing away an empty bottle or can, consider following the easy guidelines of recycling. Contamination in easily avoidable and recycling should not be viewed as a hassle. Just use your brain and reduce, reuse, recycle.