St. Thomas’ Students for Sustainability group has been collecting refundable bottles and cans across campus as a fundraiser for projects.
The group began the bottle project last year after noticing that bottles weren’t being collected on a regular basis.
Group president Frida Guerrero said they approached facilities management about addressing the situation.
“We collect them and facilities management picks them up at the shed by Windsor Street when there are a few bags there and the money will come to our group for activities and projects,” she said.
She said that when the bottles were collected, they weren’t being recycled or returned for a refund.
Guerrero said some of the funds have been used to purchase labels for the bins.
“It’s so people can be aware of where to place what,” she said.
The group originally collected seven days a week, but they noticed there weren’t always enough bottles on Tuesdays and Thursdays to make their efforts worthwhile.
“This year, we decided to do Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and pile them up.”
Guerrero appreciates the support of facilities management for their project.
“They gave us the bags, pickers and gloves,” she said. “They always ensure we have materials. After a while, when we have several bags, they pick them up.”
Group member Alex Corbett says students are supportive.
“Students are always encouraging and telling us to keep up the good work,” he said. “People can help just by taking the caps off the bottles.”
The group collects from every building on campus, along with the outside bins. They fill two large garbage bags per day and fill the storage room every week.
The bins in George Martin Hall are often full, so Guerrero said the group is trying to determine the best way to collect from there.
She stresses the importance of keeping trash and recyclables separate in the blue bins on campus.
“There’s always trash with the bottles, so we’re trying to encourage students to keep garbage and bottles separate,” Guerrero said. “The trash makes it hard to sort and hard for the materials to be recycled.”
Corbett calls bottle sorting a great initiative.
“We can recycle other materials even if they aren’t money projects,” he said. “We’re trying to raise awareness for how we can do things to reduce our carbon footprint.”
