Scenic and pristine, the ocean was once a beautiful place to watch the blue tidal waves ebb and flow, an escape like no other. But beauty isn’t timeless, and the loss of the ocean’s scenery is your fault.
 
We’re the reason for the landfills filling up, and in the same sense you’re also the reason for global warming.
 
While I don’t know any of you personally, I do realize that as human beings we all have one basic weakness and need — the need for convenience. Let’s face it: Fast food is so popular because it’s incredibly delectable and easy to come by.
 
Recycling, not so much.
 
Perhaps it’s just a basic lack of knowledge about the topic, but in my case it’s plain and simple laziness. Honestly, it seems like one bottle really won’t make a difference, and the trash bin is so much closer.
 
If I was the only one that didn’t acknowledge the consequences of my actions, we’d be in a much better situation. Unfortunately, I’m not.
  Opinion Video: Recycling
 
 
In our losing battle against the rowdy recycling bin and the grouchy garbage can, our decisions are costing us a great deal of resources.
 
For every 2 million tons of bottles and cans that were wasted instead of recycled, 18 million barrels of crude oil equivalent were consumed, according to a study conducted by the Container Recycling Institute.
In other words, as stated by Oberlin College, recycling saves 95 percent of those resources needed to produce a new can or bottle.
 
How many times could you fill your car if you had saved 18 million barrels of crude oil?
 
Probably enough times that you would never have to visit another gas station again in your lifetime.
 
But you’re telling me that you would much rather use those resources to completely recreate another plastic Starbucks cup instead of just recycling the one in your hand? Really?
 
May I suggest reconsidering?
 
With all the clearly labeled blue bins surrounding our beautiful campus, this is not the time for excuses but rather a time for action. As intelligent college students, it’s about time we take charge of the way we manage our waste on campus.
 
But how will the campus manage our waste?
 
Rumor has it that LSU’s single stream recycling system mixes the garbage and the recyclables together, only to separate them at the Waste Management Center. This would be worrisome considering the amount of contamination that occurs when recyclables are mixed with other waste.
 
It couldn’t be further from the truth.
 
The fact of the matter is that single-stream recycling mixes all  the recyclables together, making for a more efficient and less costly pickup by the Recycling Foundation, which came to LSU’s rescue only after the creation of LSU Recycles.
 
LSU Recycles became more aggressive in 2003 and since then has collected more than 1,240 tons of recyclable beverage containers. The organization has also participated in the EPA Game Day Challenge, collecting the most recyclables per person out of all Southeastern Conference schools in 2010.
 
These numbers are a great improvement from the beginnings of LSU recycling, but it’s not enough if the students haven’t the slightest clue about recycling.
 
While all the recycling bins have a clear-cut description of what should be disposed of and what should be reduced, reused and recycled, students are still clueless about the difference between a recyclable plastic bottle and a cardboard container.
 
Although LSU Recycles takes a firm stand on reducing waste, it will never be able to become fully efficient unless it gains the full attention of the student body by teaching us why we should long to defeat our ferocious landfill foes.
 
To be blunt, it’s time to recycle LSU because not doing so embodies more than just an issue of waste management. It embodies ignorance.
 
Priyanka Bhatia is a 19-year-old pre-veterinarian major and environmental management systems minor from San Jose, Calif. Follow her on Twitter@TDR_PBhatia.
 
 
 
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