First off, for my own enjoyment: I am on summer break! It feels so good to say that. But before being able to be officially on summer vacation, every college student has to move out. I had a crazy finals week with work, an interview (where I got a really cool internship with the Sierra Club, more info on that later : ) ), and packing. I don’t know how, but I managed to do it all.

Before I had started packing I decided I had too much stuff and I needed to get rid of some of it. I have to admit, however, that despite my best intentions, I only donated 2 long-sleeve T-shirts. When I was packing I asked myself if I had used it recently and if I really needed the item. It seems to make sense though that all my answers were “yes” because the room really is so small that no extra, unused things can easily fit.

What really surprised me was how much stuff other people threw out! There were piles of e-waste at the drop off locations. What really bothered me is that there is no way in one building the students broke 2 toasters, 4 coffee makers, 2 small vacuums, a printer, countless ink cartridges, and other items. Although the cartridges were most definitely empty, there are locations (like Costco) that will refill them for reuse. This was all the stuff that I saw at 1 location on one day early in the week, and I have a strong feeling most of it could be reused, sold, donated, or just passed on to someone else. What do people think recycling is? If they knew it was going to be shredded would they still have put it there? (Check back tomorrow for my experience at an e-waste recycling facility!)

They also had huge dumpsters around campus near all of the dorms. The one outside of mine (that did serve about 3 large dorms. I would say maybe 300 students) was overflowing by the time I left on the last day.

This picture was taken two days before most students had moved out and it was already halfway full. It was so big that they had to put stairs in front of it so you could get your trash into it. What I really do not understand is what students were throwing away. We had places to donate books, furniture, rugs, and other items. So what filled up this dumpster and could it have been avoidable?

During move out (and the days before while I was packing) I threw out 2 ink cartridges wrappers, 4 paper towels (I hate them, but there was no way I was going to clean out where our trash had been with a towel) and a plastic bag… So where did all of this trash come from? Is this the waste we normally create during the average week and it was just concentrated in one place making it more noticeable? It’s frightening to consider.

I am just finishing up a project for SCU’s library where with a team of three other people we proved that removing individual trash cans from every study room in our library (a total of about 40 rooms) reduced the total amount of waste created as well as left the rooms just as clean. I know you are thinking right now, “who cares?” but this is actually a big deal.

Have you ever considered how much of your trash is made up of the bag alone? On campus the custodians have to empty the trash cans daily, even if there is just a single item in the bag. This meant that we were having nearly empty bags being removed from every single one of the rooms every day.

As part of Michelle Obama’s strive to end obesity and help our nation get back on track with our diets and health, she partnered with the Department of Agriculture to create an alternative to the food pyramid, “My Plate.” My plate is an easier way for Americans to understand what they should be eating at every meal with a plate clearly divided into the important food groups: fruits, grains, vegetables, protein, and dairy.

This morning I found a video on GOOD’s 30 day vegetarian challenge and it got me thinking. I have been a vegetarian for about 5 years now, and maybe I should pledge to do something more for a month. Check out their video and see if it can inspire you to create a change in your next 30 days (or 27 : ) ) no matter how small.

I have recently started reading GOOD which is an interesting online format that “is the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. We are a company and community for the people, business, and NGOs moving the world forward.” This morning I found a video on their 30 day vegetarian challenge.

The GOOD 30-Day Challenge: Go Vegetarian from GOOD.is on Vimeo.

What will you pledge for the rest of June? Comment below or let your world know through a Facebook status update what the rest of your June will look like.

Today I had my last class in my environmental communication class, and to cap off our quarter together our professor took us on a walking tour of a few toxic waste sites near Santa Clara University (including superfund sites). The Silicon Valley has more superfund sites per square mile than any other place in the United States, so it should not have been surprising just how many were close to SCU.

When I walk around campus lately everyone has their cellphone glued to their hand, myself included sometimes. It’s incredible to think about how many electronic objects reside on our small campus alone —  cellphones, thousands of computers, coffee machines, hair dryers, and on and on. Have you ever tried to count how many electronic products you own? How many you use in a day? It’s exhausting.

According to Planet Green,

“The nation dumps between 300 and 400 million electronic items per year, yet less than 20% of that e-waste is recycled properly. About 50 million cell phones are replaced worldwide a month, yet only 10% are recycled.”

What shocked me the the most were the students who said the had never heard of e-waste and had no clue what I was talking about. I guess I have always assumed that everyone in Silicon Valley and especially students at SCU have at least a basic understanding of it.

My friend and student at SCU, Lauren D., had as great insight as to why students do not know much about e-waste.

“I think Santa Clara is really good about the environment and they are really conscious about what everything is doing, but I have to say that I think e-waste is one of those problems that we don’t necessarily pay enough attention to anywhere. It’s one of those topics that not as many people know about. People aren’t as educated [about e-waste]… I think at Santa Clara we need to put more attention on it.”

I have a feeling that it’s not just students at SCU that have never been educated on e-waste before. So spread the word and let everyone know where their cellphone goes and encourage your friends to not rush out to buy the next iPhone when their cellphone still works just fine. Share what you know about e-waste to make a difference.

As college students are packing up to leave, piles of e-waste are growing larger and larger, especially at SCU. E-waste is one of those things that most people do not think about. Typically people toss it into the trashcan and it ends up in a landfill, or they take it to a recycling center and believe that it will be taken care of responsibly.

Do you know where your e-waste is going? 70 percent of computers in the U.S. end up in landfills. Of the 30 percent that are “recycled,” 50-80 percent end up exported to other countries, including India, China, and Ghana. (According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition).

Have you ever considered how many products you have that will become e-waste? Every single item that runs on electricity (either plugs into an electrical outlet or runs on a battery) becomes e-waste when you dispose of it. This includes computers, televisions, cameras, cell phones, iPods, remote controls, headphones, gaming consoles, watches, blenders, and countless other devices.

Electronic waste is the fastest growing municipal waste as well as one of the most dangerous because of the toxic materials inside of them. These materials are not only harmful to communities near landfills where some of the electronics end up, but also the communities around the world where the e-waste is exported and primitively “recycled.”

After considering the amount of e-waste you inevitably create I encourage you to consider all of the electronics you own. Decide if all of the electronic items you own are necessary, or if you could live without them. If something breaks, do not only research a responsible recycling facility that will protect its workers and not export the materials, but also question if you really need to replace it. Treat your items well and make sure they last as long as possible.

Consider getting something fixed before you completely replace it. Just because your cell phone contract allows you to get a new phone every year or every two years does not mean that you have to. Resist the temptation to buy the latest and greatest things when the items you have still work well. If you are looking for a responsible recycler near you check out SVTC or e-stewards recyclers.