Alright, Furman students, I get it. We’re in college and buying plastic eating utensils and disposable dishes is easier than washing them. God forbid we be bothered to wash things ourselves. But Housing puts recycling bins in every room for a reason. Furman has made commitments to sustainability that students should want to uphold, not only to support our Furman community, but also our planet.

I’m tired of seeing people dump trash in the recycling bins outside the dorms. I’m tired of watching people buy food in the P-den or Barnes & Noble and throw away their papers and plastics even though there are bins right outside both buildings. The extra steps will not kill you, and at the very least will make you look like less of an a**hole. The worst people are the ones who throw away recyclable material in lecture rooms with both trash cans and recycling bins. I hope birds migrating too early because of climate change poop on you and your cars.

I get that recycling can be complicated. There are weird rules like how pizza boxes can’t be recycled because of grease, or how our local recycling center can’t process No. 6 plastics or that glazed cardboard Starbucks makes their cups out of. I understand these struggles, but all I ask is that people make some semblance of effort.

Recycling is more important than ever in the face of climate change. When you don’t recycle, you not only hurt the planet, but you participate in a lifestyle that exacerbates climate change, which leads to natural disasters and the flooding of coastal communities. If that isn’t enough, consider the ocean and the massive amounts of plastic that harm water quality, ecosystems, and even those spring break beaches Furman students love so much. I promise you there’s no Instagram filter powerful enough to hide that much plastic.

Beaches aside, recycling is essential to respecting your international community, which includes the natural world. It is an indicator that you are conscious and considerate of something other than yourself. In addition, being part of the Furman community means being part of Furman’s sustainability commitments. We have a new solar farm for a reason. We have a master plan, Sustainable Furman, for a reason. Our Climate Action Plan means that we’ve set our goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2026. We have committed to reducing our ecological footprint as a campus, and that means as individuals, too.