I have to confess my horrible, repulsive habit: I am a trash-digger! Shudder. You may have seen me, bent over the trash cans in Cousens Gym, Tisch or the campus center. With my butt up for everyone to see, I dig through the trash for bottles: clear water bottles, beer cans, soup cans, whatever. And I bet you are wondering why in the world anyone would do this, day after day, thanklessly and embarrassingly.
The answer is simple: These bottles and cans are all RECYCLABLE! Gasp. If people stare at me in disbelief as I dig, I am even more perplexed at why the bottles are there in the first place. We are all intelligent and high-achieving students, or at least good are at faking it. Then why do we still throw away recyclables, despite the presence of a recycling bin one foot to the right? Are we Tufts students too busy with our heavy workload? Did some of us not learn how to read the words "trash" and "recycling?" Or are we all simply colorblind, unable to tell the difference between the navy trash bin and the green recycling container? This baffles me.
As a professional trash-digger, I have grown accustomed to both the humiliation of my job and the germs I routinely encounter. When I take bottles out of my friends trash cans, I sometimes attempt to be stealthy, hoping they will not notice my disgusting habit, at least at first. And I do not limit myself to trash cans. Anywhere I see discarded recyclables, I feel the call. From the muddy Gatorade bottle, still half-full, lying on the side of College Ave., to the smashed "Beast" can in front of 123, I will pick up anything, anywhere.
Several times, I have confronted my friends about their recycling habits, or rather, their lack thereof. Most just shrug, unable to understand why I am so indignant. The only rational explanation that I got was from my friend Sarah, who responded, "It doesn't seem to make sense, because recycling takes so much energy, which pollutes the air. Just throwing something away is easier for me and doesn't take any dirty energy." True, the process of recycling does require a lot of energy. However, energy can be a renewable resource. Instead of nuclear power, coal and electric, we can use solar and wind power. Landfills are extremely limited and we can only put so much trash in until the grime spills into your yard.
So, here is my plea to you, students of Tufts. Do not make me dig through the grimy trash cans anymore. Please, Please, PLEASE take the one extra second to toss your water bottle into the recycling bin - you know, the green one with the two holes in the lid? Do it to help me, to help the environment, or in honor of Earth week (which is the third week in April). Otherwise, you can become my fellow trash-digger. Who knows, you may like the job almost as much as I do.
Emma Shields is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
