Written for The Voice and the Gaucho Gazette.
Dumpster Dive to take place April 19
By Sharon Weltz
It’s that time of year again, when volunteers gather to commence sifting, sorting and weighing 24 hours of campus trash. GCC’s annual Dumpster Dive will take place at 7 a.m., Thursday, April 19, on the GCC main campus Mall.
The Dumpster Dive, in its fifth year, measures the percentage of recyclables that are thrown away rather than placed in recycle bins. Last year’s results showed 21-percent of campus trash consisted of recyclable items, a 3-percent increase in recycling over 2010. Mary Harris, Department of Physical Sciences and Dumpster Dive organizer, has high hopes of beating last year’s record.
“It’s plain good stewardship for what we have here,” Harris said. The Dumpster Dive is scheduled to take place the same week America celebrates Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. The Dumpster Dive and recycling program are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to GCC’s green initiatives. “We tackle the problem at all different levels,” Harris said. “When we use less energy we reduce our carbon footprint.”
One way the GCC community can help point numbers in the right direction is to take the online Paper Reduction Pledge. Dr. Glasper, Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges, has set a goal for 10,000 students, faculty and staff to pledge to reduce paper usage by 10%. To date 3,792 from the GCC community have taken the pledge. To join in and take the pledge and to learn more about GCC’s green initiatives, visit the links below.
Take the paper reduction pledge:
http://sustainability.maricopa.edu/paper-reduction/#comment-5151
Learn more about GCC’s sustainability initiatives:
http://www.gccaz.edu/greenefforts/15735.htm
Learn more about Earth Day:
http://earthday2012.net/
It’s that time of year again, when volunteers gather to commence sifting, sorting and weighing 24 hours of campus trash. GCC’s annual Dumpster Dive will take place at 7 a.m., Thursday, April 19, on the GCC main campus Mall.
The Dumpster Dive, in its fifth year, measures the percentage of recyclables that are thrown away rather than placed in recycle bins. Last year’s results showed 21-percent of campus trash consisted of recyclable items, a 3-percent increase in recycling over 2010. Mary Harris, Department of Physical Sciences and Dumpster Dive organizer, has high hopes of beating last year’s record.
“It’s plain good stewardship for what we have here,” Harris said. The Dumpster Dive is scheduled to take place the same week America celebrates Earth Day, Sunday, April 22. The Dumpster Dive and recycling program are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to GCC’s green initiatives. “We tackle the problem at all different levels,” Harris said. “When we use less energy we reduce our carbon footprint.”
One way the GCC community can help point numbers in the right direction is to take the online Paper Reduction Pledge. Dr. Glasper, Chancellor of the Maricopa Community Colleges, has set a goal for 10,000 students, faculty and staff to pledge to reduce paper usage by 10%. To date 3,792 from the GCC community have taken the pledge. To join in and take the pledge and to learn more about GCC’s green initiatives, visit the links below.
Take the paper reduction pledge:
http://sustainability.maricopa.edu/paper-reduction/#comment-5151
Learn more about GCC’s sustainability initiatives:
http://www.gccaz.edu/greenefforts/15735.htm
Learn more about Earth Day:
http://earthday2012.net/