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Don’t Be Trashy, Join in on DoSomething.org’s Campaign!

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Are you trashy? No, I’m not talking about being “that party girl.” I’m talking about trash, literally. Did you know that the average college student produces 640 pounds of solid waste each year? That includes 500 disposable cups (that’s a lot of flip cups) and 320 pounds of paper (and that’s a lot of term papers). But what we tend to forget is that these resources can easily be recycled. Even something as simple as your daily water bottle can be used to rebuild bridges or carpeting or more plastic bottles.

A few months ago, we told you about DoSomething.org, a website that promotes community service and social change, and their Give a Spit about Cancer campaign. This month, DoSomething.org has partnered up with NestlĂ© Waters to launch their recycling campaign Don’t Be Trashy, which seeks to make information about recycling more accessible and inspire greener thinking. Their interactive website provides an outlet to share recycling project ideas.

Here are some quick stats about recycling and waste to get you motivated!

  • We generate 21.5 million tons of food residuals annually.
  • 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour.
  • 45,000 tons of plastic waste are dumped into the world’s oceans every year.
  • NYU’s annual “Green Apple Move Out” collection drive diverted 73 tons of reusable goods from landfills in 2009.
  • Penn State’s “Trash to Treasure” sale over the past 10 years has saved nearly 1.5 million pounds of goods from being shipped to a landfill.
  • UNH’s “Trash 2 Treasure” program diverted 57,000 pounds of student waste from landfills this year.

So, how does it work? It’s an easy 5-step process!

  • Check out the recycling stats in the Stats Gallery.
  • Choose one or more to post on Facebook.
  • Tag your friends to school them on recycling and encourage them to follow your (small carbon) footsteps.
  • Starting January 5, browse our easy project ideas and take action.
  • Select the stats you shared and the project you completed for a chance to win prizes.

You can win some neat prizes like a free movie ticket or a $500 scholarship. Their campaign officially kicks off on January 5. Sign up for a chance to these prizes, get your friends involved, and take action! To get involved, text “TRASHY” to 38383 or visit their website for more details!

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Alexandra Churchill
Alexandra is a graduate from the University of New Hampshire and the current Assistant Digital Editor at Martha Stewart Living. As a journalism student, she worked as the Director of UNH’s Student Press Organization (SPO) and on staff for four student publications on her campus. In the summer of 2010, she studied abroad at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, in England, where she drank afternoon tea and rode the Tube (but sadly no, she did not meet Prince Harry). Since beginning her career, her written work has appeared in USA Today College, Huffington Post, Northshore, and MarthaStewart.com, among others. When not in the office, she can be found perusing travel magazines to plan her next trip, walking her two dogs (both named Rocky), or practicing ballet. Chat with her on Twitter @allie_churchill.