Sophomore Mandie Lee took the term “going green” to a whole new level when she assisted in bringing recycling to Fort Walton Beach Senior High in 2009. In high school, Lee held an officer position in the Environmentally Conscious Youth (ECY), a club that helped organize for their school to replace two regular dumpsters with two recycling dumpsters. “We had to go through many meetings and do a lot of research and presentations in order for us to be granted this opportunity,” Lee explained.
Once the group received permission, they installed recycling bins throughout their school to help promote the mission. Their duties involved promoting the usage of the bins for recycling, taking the recycling from the bins to the dumpsters each day and also cleaning the bleachers after football games for recyclable materials in order to put them in the dumpster. The dumpsters installed in their school were single-stream recycling, making the overall process easier.
When asked why Lee was so interested in promoting for recycling at her school she replied, “We [ECY] realized how much recycled material was being thrown away and our clubs whole idea was to be environmentally conscious.” Bringing recycling to her high school made Lee realize thatone person can help make a difference.
Here, at USF Lee continues to be environmentally conscious through her actions and role as a student. Making use of recycling at her apartment and also always using the recycling trashcans around school is a must for Lee. Wanting to be known as someone that is down to earth with a big heart, Lee portrays these attributes through her love for the environment.
You can be an environmentally aware person just like Lee. USF has made it easy to start saving the environment by taking little steps at a time. The campus’s philosophy on protecting the world is to Reuse, Reduce, & Recycle. Most dorms on campus have their own recycling bins, along with many scattered around campus and the Marshall Student Center. There is a main recycling facility on campus located off of Sycamore, where you can recycle plastics, glass, aluminum, paper, cardboard, and newspaper. Check out USF’s website for recycling tips on campus!
Another way that our campus is focusing on being “Sustain-a-Bull” is through the semi-recent addition of reusable to go boxes for the dining halls. These boxes were enforced after realizing that over 200,000 styrofoam to-go containers were used and thrown away. The USF dining website states that the goal of the switch is to strive towards zero waste and support the sustainability goals of USF. See more ways that USF’s Sustain-a-Bull program is being applied to the campus.
As Lee stated, it takes only one person to make a difference, so why not start today? Take an easy step of purchasing a $4 reusable to-go container, beginning to recycle, or even promoting awareness of the subject and don’t forget the R’s – Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle!