Given the existential nature of the climate crisis, efforts to reduce waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions are more vital now than ever before. Average global temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising and the crisis is worsening as we continue to experience droughts, forest fires and other natural disasters. We as Emory students must do our part by effectively sorting our trash and contributing to a waste-free campus.
Emory has made admirable efforts to foster sustainability with regard to waste production, having diverted 70 percent of its waste from landfills in 2018 with goals to divert 95 percent of waste by 2025. However, I’ve often seen students fail to sort their trash properly or remark that they just dump everything in the landfill bin if no one is watching. Emory’s administration is doing its part to promote sustainability, and we as students have a duty to match that commitment to alleviate, if only slightly, the worsening effects of climate change. We must do our part in fostering sustainability on campus by taking a few extra minutes out of our day to sort our trash.
Brammhi Balarajan (23C) is from Las Vegas.
Brammhi Balarajan (23C) is from Las Vegas, majoring in political science and English and creative writing. She is the Editor-in-Chief of The Emory Wheel. Previously, her column "Brammhi's Ballot" won first place nationally with the Society of Professional Journalists. She has also interned with the Georgia Voice.
