So I was making a student loan payment when I stumbled upon this: my alma mater's football stadium is going "zero waste." Okay, that really means 10% waste or less, but that would be a huge stride in the right direction. They're planning to make this happen through recyclable and biodegradable materials and by making only corresponding bins for their disposal available. No more trashcans.
Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium
I'm wondering how well it'll be received. The reason it would be such an improvement is because games generate so much trash, which also means it'll be a tough habit to curb. What if a person comes into the stadium with a load of stuff that can't be recycled or composted? Likely throw it where they please, which threatens to make this new system in practice not much different from the current one.
The fact that the vast majority of products available for purchase at the stadium will conform to these new guidelines, however, is reassuring. Even with a stray wrapper here or there, it could still work. I just hope people don't get frustrated with it or see it as a damper on their festivities. Because they can get really passionate about them.
It seems like OSU really took up their sustainability bent right after I left there, which is awesome but makes me regret that I wasn't around to take part in or be influenced by it. They've got smarter, sustainable buildings now, were pioneering dandelions as an alternative fuel source last I knew, offer courses in that same vein. It at least gives me a little something to brag about.
Speaking of which, one of my many cynical friends was quick to point out that "they're probably only doing it for the PR." My response to which is, of course they're only doing it for the PR! Virtually no organization wants to take on more responsibility and do the right thing for its own sake.
What interests us is the recognition and reward that comes with that responsibility, rarely the virtue in and of itself. Luckily in a more transparent, interconnected world we start dishing those accolades out. The more we move in that direction the better the feedback will be for those who appear to act beyond their own interests.
I think that this arrangement is probably our best hope for steering ourselves toward a brighter future. Sunlight is the best of all disinfectants.
Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium
I'm wondering how well it'll be received. The reason it would be such an improvement is because games generate so much trash, which also means it'll be a tough habit to curb. What if a person comes into the stadium with a load of stuff that can't be recycled or composted? Likely throw it where they please, which threatens to make this new system in practice not much different from the current one.
The fact that the vast majority of products available for purchase at the stadium will conform to these new guidelines, however, is reassuring. Even with a stray wrapper here or there, it could still work. I just hope people don't get frustrated with it or see it as a damper on their festivities. Because they can get really passionate about them.
It seems like OSU really took up their sustainability bent right after I left there, which is awesome but makes me regret that I wasn't around to take part in or be influenced by it. They've got smarter, sustainable buildings now, were pioneering dandelions as an alternative fuel source last I knew, offer courses in that same vein. It at least gives me a little something to brag about.
Speaking of which, one of my many cynical friends was quick to point out that "they're probably only doing it for the PR." My response to which is, of course they're only doing it for the PR! Virtually no organization wants to take on more responsibility and do the right thing for its own sake.
What interests us is the recognition and reward that comes with that responsibility, rarely the virtue in and of itself. Luckily in a more transparent, interconnected world we start dishing those accolades out. The more we move in that direction the better the feedback will be for those who appear to act beyond their own interests.
I think that this arrangement is probably our best hope for steering ourselves toward a brighter future. Sunlight is the best of all disinfectants.
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