Students carry trash during Earth Week
Garbage, recyclables and compost were toted around campus by many students and faculty last week in an effort by environmental groups at Dartmouth to make people more aware of the impact they have on the environment.
Planned by the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO) and the DOC Environmental Studies (ESD), nearly 130 students and one faculty member participated in the effort .
"Instead of throwing away your trash and killing the environment behind your back, this week it will be on your back," the Coordinator of ECO, Jesse Foote '01, said at the beginning of the event last week. "The less you waste and throw away, the easier it will be for you."
The activity was open to everyone on campus, students and faculty alike. Those involved in this week-long demonstration represented a diverse cross section of the Dartmouth community with a mix of all classes represented as well as a fairly equal male to female ratio.
Many participants made an additional statement by wearing Earth Week t-shirts made especially for this activity. Made by recyling old shirts, they read, "I'm Carrying My Trash. Ask Me Why."
This particular activity has been tried only once before at Dartmouth, Foote said, adding that he does not believe the activity has been done in the last five years at the College.
"It's been fun having random people ask you why you're carrying around your trash," Foote said.
"It's definitely a burden," Dominic Stanculescu '01 said. "I'm always carrying it around on my back and that's the point. We're meant to take responsibility for our garbage, which we don't do for the rest of the year."
"I know the white trash bags bobbing around campus this week have triggered a number of 'why in hell are you lugging your trash around?' discussions," Jennifer Mygatt '04 said. She added that she hopes the event will encourage people to think more about what they throw away.
The event culminated with a weighing of all the trash and recycled materials collected. The ECO and ESD also presented statistics for the entire College that depict how much is wasted on campus that should not be.
The event organizers weighed each person's waste for the week individually to give the participants an idea of how they contributed to saving the environment. The tally of all the participants' trash will be completed today and will be publically available.
