Drinking, partying and—picking though trash? This isn’t the schedule of the average college student but some UC San Diego students added dumpster diving to their agendas, in an effort to search for recyclable products.
Volunteers helped ring-in “Earth Week” by digging through more than 1,000 pounds of trash to demonstrate how many recyclable items are thrown away with regular old trash. Within the mounds of garbage, the jumpsuit-clad individuals searched for aluminum, paper and plastic. The unfazed volunteers even braved old food items, which can be recycled into compost soil.
“So much of this can be recycled into fertilizer, or another aluminum can or carpet or something,” said graduate student volunteer Michelle Kizner. “So much can be reused again.”
Students recommended getting a few different trash cans for your home to make sorting easier. A list of what can and cannot be recycled is available here.
It seems like these students spent their April 20th more productively than the average college student in America’s finest city… Did they remember to conserve water when they were washing off the trash smell too?
