Ole Miss Green Initiative attempts to combat gameday trash

There have been many mixed messages coming from The Daily Mississippian in the last couple of weeks, concerning the efforts of the Ole Miss Green Initiative. One article quoted students saying that the recycling receptacles were not conveniently placed in areas where students eat and create trash, such as the Student Union. Other news claims that bus-riding numbers are up on the Oxford University Transit, a great sign that the program will continue.


I was on campus yesterday in the Barnard Observatory, and I noticed that at just about every doorway and exit there were multiple recycling receptacles. I won't call them trash cans, because they are actually white boxes with a hole cut in the top. Here's what I'm talking about.

Thursdays are all about preparation for the big game in Oxford. You will start seeing the, "RV No Right Turn" signs close to the highway exits on Wednesday before the game. If you cruise through the square Thursday morning, you will see the big beer trucks pulled up in the round about, unloading cases and kegs to all the various bars and restaurants.

This is the site you will see in the grove on Thursday before the game. Not a recycling receptacle in sight. But this is because the Ole Miss Green Initiative passes out green trash bags, for grove-goers to collect their bottles and cans themselves and take them home to recycle them, or to the appropriate recycling facility. This is a great way to promote recycling in the grove, however, I have always hoped that the University of Mississippi would take on the problem of gameday waste in a more responsible manner. If Ole Miss is prepared to haul the multitude of cans it sets out in the grove, why are they not able to place some white recycling receptacles out there as well?

I'll tell you why. Game day in the grove is all about the party. It is the biggest and most well-known tradition associated with Ole Miss, in my experience anyway. (I love the grove, I frequently visit the grove and am not trying to knock this tradition in anyway.) And from personal experience, I would say that when people are having a good time in the grove, it is difficult for them to remember to recycle, and they might also forget NOT to put the wrong sort of trash in a recycling receptacle. So for now, the green trash bags are as good as it gets, I suppose. But the quantity of trash and recyclables that accrues during a single game is quite huge. I imagine that many of the grove-goers are not inclined to drive back to their homes in other counties and cities, with a giant green trash bag in their car. They may actually not have room in their car for such a large trash bag, considering space for the kids, the luggage, the game day gear, the tent, the tables, the left over tupperware and trays, vases, camping chairs, etc.

Check out this article and particularly the video of the Ole Miss Green Initiative taking steps to promote green partying in the Grove.

http://news.olemiss.edu/index.php/Ole-Miss-News/News-Releases/greentailgating.html