The Undercover Environmentalist
In 2013, Trinity College became the second university in the world to achieve a Green Flag, now proudly flying beside the Pav. This was a fantastic achievement for the Green Campus Committee which has been working towards this achievement since its foundation 20 years ago by the late Professor Simon Perry. Back then it was called the College Recycling Committee and its sole purpose was to improve recycling levels in the College which were at near 0% levels. Now the Green Campus Committee composed of staff, students and alumni tackles everything from reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting biodiversity to improving cycling facilities on the campus. All the work carried out under the Green Campus programme is reported on the College green pages website (www.tcd.ie/GreenPages).
The latest waste statistics for the College show improvements but we are still recycling at half the reported levels of UCC. Are we Trinity-ites just not able to use recycling bins as well as our southerly neighbours or are there other factors at play?
The latest waste statistics for the College show improvements, but we are still at only 40% recycling, far behind the 75% benchmark set in UCC.
It has been suggested that as we are located at the heart of the city and a major tourist destination, a percentage of the waste generated is not our own. This is currently being investigated, but there is anecdotal evidence that staff and students just do not know how to recycle or choose to avoid it. There are now well labelled recycling bins located across the campus and off-campus buildings. When you see the list of recycling options available in Trinity there really is very little which should be going into our black bins. Only time will tell if we can match the recycling rates of the best and greenest in Ireland. These stats will be published on the green pages website so check back to see how we do each month.
Looking into the data a bit more, we see that waste generation peaks in October and May , when most students start and finish their courses. December represents the month with minimum quantities of waste generated, while the summer months generate higher amounts. This is surprising if you consider the reduction in activities over these months.
Looking at the recycling levels, the peak recycling month is July, with the worst month being October. This points to the re-entry of students to the campus being the driver for poor recycling levels. There is an argument to be made that new students to the campus need to be taught when and where to recycle but with almost 90% of students in Ireland coming through a Green Flag school, this should not really be an issue. Overseas students come from a variety of territories but most practice recycling at higher levels to Ireland so this should also not be an issue.
This coming year, the TCD Green Campus Committee has set an ambitious target of 50%. Only YOU, the College user, can make this target a reality. So think twice next time you drop something in the bin. It needs to go somewhere and recycling is far and away better than having it incinerated or landfilled.
Any students or staff who would like to volunteer and help are more than welcome to the committee meetings held on the first Thursday of each month at lunchtime in the Museum Building’s Civil Engineering Library. The Green Week held in February will be Trinity’s first as a Green Flag Campus Holder and suggestions for events are welcome at any meeting.
