Students for Sustainability, a club on campus, started the Wildcat Waste Challenge this March in the UA Main Library. This campaign’s main goals include encouraging students to recycle and educating people about what can and cannot be recycled.

According to the club’s website, “80 percent of the waste coming out of the Main Library can be diverted from landfills either by recycling or composting, and they hope to recycle more of that instead of throwing it away.”

Throughout the month, Students for Sustainability interns will be at a table on the second floor of the library to answer any questions about what’s recyclable. According to the club’s Facebook page, the challenge “aims to help students understand how and what to recycle, as well as why.”

The Wildcat Waste Challenge encourages students to reduce waste, but also to learn about the importance of recycling.

Lucette Peralta, a pre-business freshman and member of Students for Sustainability, had some suggestions for how students could make small changes in their everyday lives to become more environmentally friendly.

“I think everyone’s discouraged by large issues because they feel like they can’t make an individual difference, but recycling is an easy way to make a difference,” Peralta said. “You may not think your one Starbucks cup is a big deal, but when you multiply that by everyone in the library, it adds up.”

Recycling is an easy way to be more eco-friendly when done correctly.

“A big part is properly educating yourself on how to recycle,” Peralta said. “I feel like a lot of people believe they know how to, but they actually don’t.”

For example, plastic bottles, cups and food containers go in the recycle bin, but plastic utensils cannot. Other recyclable items include newspapers, office paper and aluminum cans. Food waste and liquids generally go in the trash or compost bin.

Making small changes can cut down on the impact someone has on the environment. Turning off the lights after leaving a room saves money on electricity bills, and it also saves the environment. Taking shorter showers conserves water — something we don’t have very much of here in the desert.

Next time you’re in the library and it’s time to throw away your Starbucks cup or soda can, head for the recycle bin and not the trash. 

Follow Taylor Brestel on Twitter.