It’s trash day

Clad in Tyvek suits and rubber gloves, earth and environmental sciences professor Wes Dripps, Ph.D., and his students scaled the library steps to face the task of sorting through trash from North Village garbage cans. They performed this grimy job to drive home one message—think before you pitch it.

Earlier this year, Dr. Dripps and his class conducted a Furman Residential Garbage Waste Audit which revealed that 41 percent of the garbage by volume and 25 percent of the garbage by weight could have been recycled under the current campus recycling program.

On Thursday, as part of Furman’s Earth Week celebration, Dr. Dripps and his students illustrated their findings by sifting through bags of garbage, piece by piece, and separating recyclables and compost from real “trash.”

Each day of Furman’s Earth Week Celebration donned a sustainable theme. From the Water Walk to volunteer day on the Furman Farm, students were immersed in the opportunities created by thinking sustainably.

Click here to learn more about Sustainability at Furman.

Furman Trash Day 2014 was produced by student videographer John Kiser ’14