With the rising threat of climate change and the desperate need for environmentally-friendly initiatives on a national as well as a global scale, the Sierra Club is taking action on our campus to ensure that Kentucky Wesleyan is doing its part in creating a cleaner and healthier environment. In order to do this, they have established a new recycling initiative.

You may notice while walking around campus, there are blue bins placed throughout the frequently trafficked areas such as the library. In each bin, various plastic, cardboard, and paper materials can be deposited. This project is exactly what our college has been missing for the last few years. With the amount of materials we use each day, even the smallest amount that may be reused and not sent out with the trash will make a difference.

“We have five 55-gallon totes and 30 bins located around campus. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Sierra Club members walk around campus with a tote and empty the bins. GO Recycling picks up the recycling every Friday. We’ve had a few speed bumps along the way, but things are finally rolling,” shared Senior Kelsey Ray, a member of the Sierra Club, “The recycling program has been absent from campus life for too long. We had some blue recycling bins located throughout campus, but no one was picking them up…. After getting the Sierra Club started on campus, our first project was bringing recycling back to campus. After receiving funding from SGA, we contracted with GO Recycling in Owensboro.”

GO Recycling began in 2011, collecting the recycling materials of homes and businesses throughout Owensboro. The company delivers the items to recycling centers where they may be turned into raw materials for reuse. According to their website, GO Recycling believes that it is not only smart to recycle, it is also “the right thing to do. It’s a matter of ethics.”

Ray announced the upcoming project for the Sierra Club, now that the recycling program is in full swing, will be to use the Hahn greenhouse to create a community garden. The Aladdin food staff has agreed to recycle their scraps to help them start a compost bin. Initiatives such as these will not only be beneficial for the college but also promote unification on campus as we join together to make our campus more “green.”

Anyone with a passion for the environment is welcome to join the Sierra Club and help their efforts to make our college a more environmentally-conscious place to live and grow. Also, Ray added that those curious about recycling in general may access information about the topic at https://www.recycleacrossamerica.org/recycling-facts.