Coca-Cola, along with the FAMU Green Coalition and Environmental Sciences Student Organization, handed out T-shirts, flyers and gave away prizes to students passing by to educate them about the movement of being “green.”
Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day, a nationwide initiative sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, Inc. Florida A&M students flocked to the Set Tuesday to participate. Trash bins were filled with recyclable goods and gently worn clothes that will be donated to local charities.
Students were being asked to sign a petition to request a campus recycling program. The program will add $0.75 to $1 to students’ tuition to build solar panels around campus.
“There is no price to great to keep our environment cleans,” said Logan McDonnell, a senior criminal justice student. “The way our ozone layer is looking, it couldn’t hurt. I’m all for it.”
In addition to the petition, students were asked to take a pledge separated in two parts: “Act” and “Pledge.” The purpose was to learn about recycling options in the community, what materials are collected for recycling and how to reduce personal waste by recycling. The pledge lists a variety of everyday products that can be recycled.
Coca-Cola vehicles were parked on the corners, decorated with interactive games and recycling displays. Students had the chance to win computer bags for correctly answering trivia questions
Recyclable goods like plastic bottles, aluminum cans, paper, cardboard, printer cartridges, cell phones and batteries which will be shredded and burned to create more plastic bottles or even FAMU paraphernalia.
Coca-Cola marketing representative Eric Wharton wore a fully recycled T-shirt made from seven Coke bottles.
“We hope that students become more educated on the affects of recycling,” said Wharton.
Every month, Americans throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a skyscraper, Keep America Beautiful reported, and 80 percent of the materials thrown away can be recycled.
“With us being an HBCU, most people think blacks don’t care about the environment,” said Green Coalition Parliamentarian Ashli Doss. “We are here to show that we do and inform the students the importance of going green.”