By Pippa Jones
Alexandria, VA – As a new college semester begins and students return to school, it is important to brainstorm ideas on how to make school both fun and sustainable. While college sporting events may not seem like an unsustainable gathering, there is a lot of production that goes into the games. For bigger schools, football games are a big part of school pride, which means there is a lot that is poured into the games.
While night football games are a big part of the fun, the illumination needed for those games is extensive and causes a lot of light pollution. In order to reduce this, schools should limit the night games and advocate for games during the day to limit the amount of energy used.
Concessions at these games are also proven to be unsustainable due to the high presence of single-use plastics. At big games, people tend to buy food and drinks, but neglect to properly recycle these items or buy reusable containers. By identifying people or a committee to manage waste, these events can produce less litter and trash.
Additionally, by using cardboard trash cans from a place like Uline.com, event management can proactively sort the litter into trash, recycling, and compost. Another big part of back to school are on-campus events and parties. Most of these events use lots of single-use plastic such as cups, utensils, and plates. While “Red Solo Cups” are
easy to use for refills, using aluminum cups reduces the waste and forces people to refill their cups rather than throwing it away after one use. Using refillable options like pitchers or water jugs for drinks allow people to reuse cups rather than single-use cans.
By providing awareness for the young community on a college campus, sustainability can bring unity in clubs, sports, and events. Additionally, by spreading awareness on sustainability, college communities can foster these practices to continue in students’ careers and lifestyles after college.
Pippa Jones is a sophomore at Providence College studying English literature and classical history and culture.
