So, I am indeed writing about trash, and I do, in fact, have an opinion on it. I worked in facilities freshman year, so I know my trash. We need trash cans at Covenant. This seems like a silly thing to have to say. Honestly I didn’t believe that it was true that there were NO trash cansoutside buildings on campus, but when I paid closer attention I realized it was almost true. At the same time, however, there is a lot of...trash. It’s hard to walk across campus without seeing litter like apple cores or bits of paper. If we are called to be good stewards of God’s creation, especially at a school that claims “In all things Christ preeminent,” we should not be littering. But for those who just can’t hold onto their trash until they make it into a building, trash cans around campus would hopefully cut down on the amount of litter. Also, trash cans are pretty cheap, so buying a couple really wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
Here are some general ways you, as students of Covenant, can help. If you live on a hall and get to put your waste in hall trash cans, bag your trash. Just do it. That pizza that you found from last semester, or that semi-moldy coffee that you can’t recognize anymore, bag those, too. I have had some of the most concerning substances dripped or spilled on me, because people have been too lazy to bag their trash. If you don’t bag your trash, it is a real struggle for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who work in facilities to take it out for you.
One thing I learned last year is that seemingly harmless laziness can really make someone else’s job more difficult. Another pet peeve of mine was when people would just dump entire drinks straight into the trash. I know it’s not the easiest thing to empty your cup and then throw it out, but hey, it isn’t the easiest thing to carry a literal trash bag of liquid to the dumpster either.
I also asked a former team 13 (facilities) worker and a good bud of mine, Tori Vintzel (‘21), her thoughts on her job and just how Covenant handles trash in general.
She told me, “I didn’t realize how much people waste until I had to take out the trash.” I also asked if she had any suggestions on how people could make her job a little easier, and she mentioned my two main complaints stated above. Vintzel also added, “Covenant doesn’t recycle plastic, so please don’t put your recycling in plastic bags.” She also agreed trash cans on campus would be nice because she is one of the people who has to pick up the litter left on the ground.
In summary, I think getting even one or two trash cans around campus would help keep our campus cleaner and make life easier for facilities workers like sweet Tori. And I would like to ask people to remember that their friends and classmates have to clean up after them everyday. Bag your trash people and empty your drinks before throwing your cups away. It would (litter)ally mean so much if you did. I’m not sorry for that pun.