I have always been interested in environmental issues, but since I arrived at OU I have already gained a much more in-depth understanding of how to be an effective steward of the environment. Much of this knowledge has come from my environmental studies class, but there are many resources on campus to create a more sustainable university. This week I talked to the chairman of the Sustainability Committee in SGA Congress. Jake Lange answered some of my questions about our campus’s recycling, sustainability initiatives, and more.
One of the important roles Jake’s committee plays is monitoring the actions of other groups on campus to make sure environmental responsibility is being upheld.
Jake explained this as making sure there are “no lapses in sustainability that are in our power to fix.”
One example of this is when they passed a funding bill to stop the SGA budget from supplying student organizations with confetti and balloons since these items usually end up as litter.
“The other side of it,” he explained, “[is] letting our members identify what they want to work on and pursue that.”
The sustainability committee provides an opportunity for students to investigate and solve environmental issues on campus.
“Often what our committee does is it serves as a portal,” Jake told me. “[It lends] a lot of credibility and access to resources in pursuing [environmental] interests.”
The big project Jake has worked towards is getting reusable food containers on campus. The project got put on hold because of the pandemic, but I was fascinated to learn about the impact the sustainability committee could have on reducing campus waste. Already, campus dining has moved away from using styrofoam for to-go cups and containers. Jake has worked to take this a step further. Jake described the project as “the hill I will die on.” The project was very close to going into effect before the pandemic put it on hold.
“[The] cost is way lower,” Jake told me. The university had everything set up to partner with a company called OZZI, which Jake explained uses vending machines and tokens to dispense and return reusable to-go containers. It would be a big change that would have a big impact, and it has already been successfully implemented at several other universities across the country. Hopefully Jake will get to see the plan put into action before his time at OU comes to an end.
When I expressed my interest in recycling, Jake was able to give me some insight into campus recycling. OU has a partnership with a contracting company that picks up recycling on campus.
Because of this, Jake explained, “what you can recycle through the city of Norman is different than what you can recycle through OU.”
One of the main issues I have noticed with recycling is people’s awareness of what and how they should recycle.
“That’s something we have kind of tried to work on,” Jake told me. “The Department of Energy and Sustainability has also been working on new signage.”
As far as knowing what is recyclable, Jake assured me, “It’s actually pretty easy…Plastics one and two are recyclable. On campus, glass is recyclable in the city of norman it is not…things like aluminum cans…paper that is not contaminated with food waste… it’s not actually that complicated.”
When you work towards a more sustainable campus, it is pretty easy to see positive change go into effect.