Originally written for my sophomore journalism class.

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (March 15) –– Instead of buying their own, Marie Dirle and her housemates recycle spaghetti jars to use as drinking cups.

“We try to reuse as much stuff as we can,” says the co-president of Tread Lightly, St. Bonaventure University’s environmental club. Now the senior international studies major plans to educate her peers.

It costs the university roughly $80,000 a year for Casella Waste Systems to collect trash several days a week. With zero-sort recycling –– toss all recyclables in the container and Casella sorts it later –– Casella makes recycling easy.

In years past, the university recycled 12 percent of waste products, says Suzanne Kush, director of the Franciscan Center for Social Concern and staff adviser for Tread Lightly.

Philip Winger, associate vice president for facilities, bases the 12 percent estimate on the volume of the containers emptied each week.

“I was very embarrassed to find out we were only recycling 12 percent,” says Kush. This spurred Tread Lightly’s new goal to boost the recycling percentage up to 20 by the end of the spring semester.

Through participation in a nationwide, eight-week recycling competition called Recyclemania, Tread Lightly plans to educate students more on zero-sort recycling, says Kush.

“We really want to educate students more than anything,” says Alexandra Bulszewicz, Dirle’s fellow co-president. “And hope they take this lifestyle with them after they leave Bonaventure.”

To reflect this, Plassmann Hall’s third floor now has one trashcan and a recycling bin at each end of the hall, ridding the classrooms of excess cans. Kush says the larger recycling bin should make recycling more prominently available to students.

Kush finds paper programs and soda cans –– items that can be recycled –– in regular trashcans after basketball games in the Reilly Center Arena.

“We’re gradually working with athletics to have our patrons at the basketball games become mindful of our recycling efforts,” says Kush.

Normally, the university recycles about 5.5 tons a month. Since Recyclemania began on campus on Feb. 1, the recycling rate spiked to 4.52 tons in the first two weeks.

“How can St. Bonaventure University actually be very true to our Franciscan spirit –– which is to care for all of creation –– so that it’s not only efforts toward the dignity of human beings but it’s also, ‘How do we relate with the earth and the environment?’” says Kush.

But more has changed in terms of environmental consciousness on campus.

While Bonaventure doesn’t have a high energy consumption rate compared with other institutions, the electric bill for one year hits about $1,200,000, or $100,000 a month, says Winger.

According to Winger, 6 percent of campus buildings have air conditioning and dormitories use energy at roughly equal rates.

Among the academic buildings, the William F. Walsh Science Center and De La Roche Hall consume 31 percent of energy; Plassmann, 9 percent; the John J. Murphy Professional Building, 6 percent; Friedsam Memorial Library, 54 percent. The Reilly Center consumes 46 percent in terms of non-academic buildings on campus.

The William E. and Ann L. Swan Business Center will offset the costs of the other buildings, especially the Reilly Center. The glass and insulation ensure the building consumes little energy and produces zero carbon emissions, making it a net-zero energy building. Lights in the new building will turn on or shut off automatically, depending on the amount of natural sunlight streaming in the windows, says Winger.

The new building features a state-of-the-art air conditioning system.

“It’s air conditioned by well water,” says Winger. Through piping in the ground, the business building will tap into well water, use it to cool the building and then put it back underground.

New projects in old buildings include the continual upgrade to energy-efficient light bulbs as the incandescent bulbs go out. Winger estimates the total changed thus far at 1,500.

A recent upgrade to 4-inch bulbs in the library’s stacks will save the university several thousand dollars a year. They consume 65 percent less power than the 8-foot bulbs did, Winger says.

To cut back on the Reilly Center Arena’s wattage, Winger says new controls for the arena’s light system will be installed to enable the lighting of half the court when half is all a team needs to practice.

The money saved on lighting makes up for the lack of profit with recycling on campus. Winger says one benefit outweighs that fact. By recycling, less trash goes into landfills.

Morgan Mack’s townhouse gives half of its recyclables to the Cattaraugus County SPCA, which uses the cash from the deposits to pay for the spaying and neutering of animals.

“We use half of the can money for the kitties,” says the senior English major. Her townhouse uses the other half for living necessities.

“There’s a ripple effect,” says Bulszewicz, a senior finance major. “We’re all connected to each other.”