With Earth Day barely in the rearview, environmental issues should still be of great concern for many. This global call-to-consciousness is hugely important, yet small day-to-day efforts mark the true path toward change. Through their small eco-friendly efforts, sophomores Rosie Mackay and Eva Renski have recently shown the Iona community that we don’t need a special holiday to go green. Over the past few weeks, Mackay and Renski have been visiting the residence and dining halls on a mission to recycle. The goal is to collect deposit bottles to raise money for Iona in Mission’s 2012 trip to New Mexico. This fundraising effort is not only a great way to raise money, but also benefits the environment and integrates well with the nature of the mission trip, as the group will be working with the Navajo Nation on land restoration and water conservation projects. The fundraising efforts began slowly but have become relatively successful. To increase the amount of bottles collected, special cardboard recycling bins designated to the cause have been placed in LaPenta and Spellman. In addition, the two dedicated students, armed with plastic bags and rubber gloves, have stormed the residence halls in search of discarded bottles and cans. However, they found much more than the recyclable items they were looking for. Despite many attempts to inspire more eco-consciousness across campus, it seems that much of the student population has failed adjust to Iona’s green scene. The evidence of this failure lies in a current trend of student wastefulness, recognized by Mackay and Renski. “It’s evident that Iona students are not going to go hungry anytime soon because of the amount of edible, un-opened and un-expired food that we found in the garbage,” said Mackay. After perusing Iona’s recycling bins and garbage cans for three weeks, Mackay and Renski have uncovered an astounding amount of unnecessary waste. Over two dozen fruit cups, boxes of cereal and much more were found sealed in the original packaging and were nowhere near the expiration date. Not even the recyclable bottles collected by the students were immune from the abundant waste. Renski said, “Many times we have found bottles a quarter of the way full, half full or almost completely full.” Iona has transitioned to single-stream recycling within the last year, which should make the process easier for students who may not be so inclined to sort their recyclables. Evidently, however, recycling remains an issue. “I’ve noticed that some people are not clear on what recyclable materials are and where their trash should be placed,” said Renski. “Every night that we have collected bottles, we have found trash in the recycling and recyclable products in the trash. The bins are clearly labeled and there is even a poster that explains what can and cannot be recycled, making the process so simple.” Each residence hall, as well as most of the other buildings on campus, has separate bins for garbage and recycling. Single-stream recycling enables students to place all recyclable items in the same bin. This includes papers, plastics, bottles and cans. The newly incorporated green cardboard bins are reserved especially for the New Mexico bottle drive and collect deposit bottles only. In New York, a five cent return can be made on bottles under one gallon. “Instead of throwing out the unopened peanut butter or boxes of cereal, think about donating them to Campus Ministries or other organizations that sponsor food drives,” said Mackay. “Just think about who else can use or benefit from the food you are going to toss, because there is always someone who needs it.” Keep in mind the environment and the less fortunate before making your next garbage run. It’s time to go green Gaels! And don’t just go green, stay green.