By: Sheridan Kate Murray. Co-Editor in Chief

During the spring semester of 2017, recent Wofford graduate Savannah Caffy participated in a project regarding recycling on campus for an environmental case studies class. According to Caffy, while the project was initially meant to investigate the effectiveness of recycling services on campus, ultimately the participating students came to a different conclusion regarding student awareness of recycling.

“We expected to find that Wofford college as a whole didn’t recycle. What we actually found was that there was a general misunderstanding of how to recycle amongst students. We concluded that this was a student and administrative problem,” Caffy says.

When asked for her opinion on how to address the lack of student knowledge on recycling here at Wofford, Caffy states that in her opinion, a solution hinges on both student participation and administrative involvement alike.

“Wofford staff members and administrators alike need to educate and shed light on recycling services on campus. Additionally, students need to recognize the importance of recycling and put in the effort required. My group concluded that improvement to the recycling program starts with an administrative effort and increased education and ends with student motivation,” states Caffy.

In terms of possible solutions to improve recycling services on campus, Caffy says her group discussed improvements to signage and student incentives for efforts to recycle. Ultimately, she states, her project group members agreed that education and encouragement play important roles in the process.

“Encouraging students to recycle with positive feedback and incentives would help, as well as making the recycling process clearer for both students and staff. Further explanation of terms like “single stream” would enable Wofford students to take charge of their waste disposal and make an educated decision when it comes to recycling,” says Caffy.