An average party at Alpha Delta fraternity fills 15 industrial size trash bags with mostly plastic cups and Keystone Light cans -- waste could that be recycled. But the waste is not recycled, which is why sustainability initiative intern Carrie Burns '08 has been working with Greek houses to try to recycle their garbage.
"I just saw the huge amounts of waste that come out of every house every weekend night," Burns said. "I thought, 'If it can be recycled, why not?'"
Of the 23 Greek houses, 22 now have sustainability chairs. (Gamma Delta Chi does not.) And even with these 22 sustainability chairs in place, only nine houses own or have purchased customized green-colored recycling bins with cone-shaped lids from Burns.
Psi Upsilon fraternity tried recycling in its basement three years ago, but faced the major problem of student apathy. Adam Platz '08, Psi U's sustainability chair, said he wants this new green Greek initiative to work, but remains skeptical.
"The impetus behind change in Greek houses is not contingent on the individual actions of recycling chairs, but rather their ability to empower and inform the rest of their brotherhood," Platz said. "I think the majority of this campus doesn't care, although you can find pockets of kids that do."
Despite his doubt, Platz plans to place recycling bins in Psi Upsilon's basement for the upcoming weekend.
Last term, Platz replaced the incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones, saving the fraternity hundreds of dollars as part of his sustainability plan.
Chi Heorot fraternity sustainability chair Ben Mandel '09 said that at parties with hundreds of people, fraternity members need to have a strong desire to recycle.
"It's hard to break people of habits and convince them that this is necessary," Mandel said. "A bunch of cans and cups are just shoved into the same trash cans as a matter of convenience."
To combat these problems, College Sustainability Director Jim Merkel wants to foster a sense of ownership for sustainability.
"We want houses to spend their own budget so that they will respect the recycling pails, rather than using them as a pong table support," Merkel said.
Recycling both cans and cups in the new recycling bins reduces any "ecological footprint" by 81 percent, according to Merkel.
After entering into the February "Save Power and Receive Cash" competition that aimed to reduce College residence energy usage, Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority was awarded "the most ECO-friendly house" title.
Despite this sterling record, sustainability chair Yukako Honda '07 acknowledged that it is hard to encourage recycling during open campus parties.
Dan August '07, who said he is not affiliated with a Greek house but attends many Greek social functions, believes that the new recycling initiative will work.
"People, even when they are drunk, are still aware of what is going on," August said. "If the recycling bins are there, I feel that people will use them. I definitely would."
Phi Tau coeducational fraternity has incorporated recycling into its parties by placing recycling bins immediately adjacent to the regular trash.
"A student would have to make a conscious effort to put a can in the trash as opposed to the recycling," sustainability chair Ashley Hetrick '07 explained.
"There's not a lot of non-recyclable trash generated in our basement."
For the recycling initiative to succeed, partygoers must avoid putting non-recyclable goods in the recycling bins. Once the recycling is compromised, Merkel said, the recycling becomes regular trash.
