A large tarp of trash and four blue trash bins were seen outside Moseley April 17 for this year's Landfill on the Lawn event. In honor of Earth Week, this annual event shows students where and how to recycle on campus.
Along with the tarp and bins were student eco-reps with signs, ready to inform fellow Elon students with information about how easy and effective recycling can be. With the trash on the tarp, students were shown what exactly what items can be recycled.
Eco-reps are student volunteers who are assigned specific locations on campus and create events to spread the benefits of sustainability at Elon. They ran the event and worked with Physical Plant to get the trash materials needed.
Hannah Matthews, a sophomore eco-rep, said she hoped to inspire students to recycle more.
"We want to show students how much they throw away can actually be recycled," she said. "People can be lazy when it comes to recycling. We want students to know that they can make a difference."
The annual event is established by the Office of Sustainability, which coordinates for peer educators to attend The Global Experience and Elon 101 classrooms to teach new students about sustainability.
"We want to bring awareness to the students," Matthews said. "We can't force people to recycle, but we can show them the effects of sustainability. "
Opal Patel, a sophomore environmental studies major and an eco-rep, worked with Matthews to share the importance of sustainability to Elon’s students.
“Students need to be more aware of the trash they throw away,” she said. “We want them to see it and be more motivated.”
Recycling has had notable increases on Elon’s campus throughout the years, and for the 2010-2011 school year, it was reported that about 150 tons of trash were recycled.
"People should take the time to recycle," Matthews said. "Elon makes it easy for us"