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Campus Review
November 13, 2013
Page 14
Go Green Teams Up with Coca-Cola to
Raise Awareness on the Importance of Recycling
by Amanda Parham
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Clayton State
University’s Go Green student organiza-
tion was in the University Quad along
with Coca-Cola’s Recycling Education
Vehicle (REV), promoting the importance
of recycling on campus and at home to
students, faculty, and staff.
Members of Go Green along with repre-
sentatives from Coca-Cola’s Recycling
Team were on campus helping to inform
individuals through educational videos,
interactive displays, and trivia games that
were created to educate consumers about
the benefits of recycling and its impact on
the environment. For a few years now,
designated Coca-Cola recycling bins have
been seen and used across Clayton State’s
campus. The increase in use of these recy-
cling bins is just one example of the con-
tinuing sustainability projects that are
happening on campus.
The vision of Go Green is to increase the
recycling and sustainability on campus
and to make everyone aware how impor-
tant it is for the environment. Deirdre
Ryan, the president of Go Green, was in
attendance and shared her thoughts and
knowledge on the positive effects that
recycling has on the environment.
“Our goal is to help and make everyone
aware of the recycling process and how
important it is to get everyone to recycle,”
she says. “We recycle bottles, cans, card-
board, and paper on campus and it’s impor-
tant to us to make Clayton State a more
environmental friendly environment.”
Coca-Cola’s Recycling Team is commit-
ted to increase their collection of used
beverage containers and increase partici-
pation in recycling through education and
outreach. One educational tool that Coca-
Cola is using are their Recycling
Education Vehicles, which travel across
North America educating consumers, stu-
dents, and others on recycling and also
encourage recycling on site.
The REV truck is a self-contained vehicle,
equipped with video screens, interactive
displays, and games all designed to edu-
cate consumers about the benefits of recy-
cling bottles and cans. The vehicle con-
tains a display and video that demon-
strates the importance of recycling poly-
ethylene terephthalate, a plastic resin bet-
ter known as PET. Once recycled, PET
plastic can be found in clothing, house-
hold goods, and in the creation of new
plastic Coke product bottles.
Another interactive display that was pop-
ular was “Pedal Power,” which allowed
volunteers to pedal a stationary bike that
could charge their cell phone. This inter-
active exhibit showcased that when you
recycle aluminum cans the energy that’s
saved can charge a cell phone for two
weeks. The energy savings from recycling
aluminum cans for the past year repre-
sents 11.5 billion kilowatt hours, enough
to power a city like Pittsburgh for more
than five years.
The Go Green along with Coca-Cola’s
Recycling Team emphasized the impor-
tance of recycling and its benefits towards
the environment through fun and interac-
tive learning. Hopefully, students, faculty,
and staff will continue to take part in this
ongoing sustainability project and share
their knowledge with others so recycling
participation can increase and together we
can help save our environment.