Shaffer is right that while there are some recycling bins on campus, the widespread access to trash cans makes sending potential recyclables to the landfill a heck of a lot more attractive. USC needs students, faculty and staff to initiate and lead projects that make sustainable solutions readily available to anyone who wants them.

So here’s your chance to do something about it: There’s $25,000 of grant money on the table for students who want to lead campus sustainability projects. The Student Sustainability Fund at Sustainable Carolina is hoping students like Shaffer who have big ideas on how to make USC more energy efficient and eco-friendly will apply for grant money. Check out The Daily Gamecock article on the Student Sustainability Fund for more info.

Any one of the examples Shaffer mentioned could be covered by the project categories of the Student Sustainability Fund. Shaffer writes, ”Instead of trash cans we should have a pair of recycling bins at every current bin location. One bin will be for all common recyclable materials, while the other bin will be reserved for organics and compostable material.” Exactly. A project to place recycling bins alongside trash bins at all campus locations would be a great proposal for the Student Sustainability Fund. Shaffer points out another possible project. An “option to separate food scraps from recyclable boxes would allow for reduced costs in disposal fees for the university.”

Last semester, volunteers with Sustainable Carolina worked with Student Government to place composting bins in several cafeterias. Not all of the bins have been placed, and we need another project to put the bins in all cafeterias, but the work has begun. Right now students living in the Honors Residence Hall can separate their compostable material, knowing it will be put to use in the West (Green) Quad garden.

Examples of other projects funded by Student Sustainability Funds at SEC schools include waste reduction stations in campus dorms, rain gardens to filter pollution from runoff and protect water quality, a benefit demonstration of construction debris diverted from landfills and installation of a vertical garden to take advantage of available space in crowded campus environments.

If you need more ideas for projects, we have plenty.

Take a look at the fund and its requirements at sc.edu/green/SSF. We hope Shaffer and many others will apply. If you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call at 803-622-9266. Applications are due Feb. 17.

— Jessica Jordan, Sustainable Carolina Graduate Assistant