“Eco-Arachno”
Submitted by the School of Continuing Studies
Located in the lobby of the School of Continuing Studies, in the Special Programs Building.
Eco-Spider Challenge Essay - “What would my parents do?”
Students enrolled in the School of Continuing Studies are generally older than traditional UR students. We grew up in an era when families were larger but household incomes were smaller. Out of necessity, when something broke, it was repaired and when something was used, it was usually handed to the next person to re-use. Searching for Eco-Spider materials reflected these values passed down from our parents and reiterated the fact that many things that are discarded can be re-used.
According to University Services, UR recycles approximately 1.1 million pounds of material each year. That’s a lot of trash! Still, not everyone uses the recycle bin every time. But, what if they did? What would be the outcome if ALL members of the UR family made a conscious effort to use a recycle bin instead of a trashcan? Would it make a difference? By taking a few extra steps, the UR community could more than double the volume of material that is collected for recycling instead of sending it to the landfill. This alone would be a huge improvement to our environment.
Activities such as the Eco-Challenge help bring recycling into our core values by increasing awareness of our everyday habits. By doing this, we can help make our environment cleaner and greener for future generations. Hopefully, each member of the UR community will ask themselves the following question before throwing something in the trash instead of the recycle bin: “Does this help or hurt future generations?” It’s what our parents would have done.
Submitted by SCS/SGA Eco-Spider Team
Aleta Fonville
Karren O’Connell
Martha Pittaway
Francine Reynolds
David Richardson