With the largest crowd of the season coming to Jack Trice Stadium this Saturday, there’s only one thing missing from the grounds to satisfy fans. Specifically, the more environmentally conscious ones.

Recycling bins.

Thousands of tailgaters drink thousands of cans and bottles of beer and other assorted beverages in the parking lots and more often than not they are sitting there after the game, waiting to be swept away when the parking lot is cleaned up.

Inside the stadium, bottles of Coke products (and, yes, the occasional beer can or bottle) line every row until picked up by some enterprising fan or group or pushed into the trash with everything else.

Iowa State is missing out on a money-making opportunity.

Granted, at 20 cans to the dollar it may not be gobs of cash, but the accumulation of so many at least does something – and it helps out the environment too.

Why be adding to the landfill when you can get at least a small return and contribute to a greater good?

The money could be given to the sports teams that sell programs at the game, to add to their income.

Iowa law enables you to return cans and bottles (excepting water, Gatorade and most juices) for a nickel apiece. If the fans who paid more than 10 cents an ounce aren’t going to take their containers with them, even more money could be made on the drinks.

In fact, the new lights could indirectly provide an incentive.

When night games are scheduled, many come out and party the entire day beforehand.

There will be a lot more cans on the ground with those extra hours that go by.

While many may continue to leave their cans on the ground, others may take advantage of can and bottle receptacles instead of dropping them on the ground or throwing them in the regular trash.

Perhaps the best strategic place would be by that big flag at every game that proclaims “Beer.” The costs of placing a bin there would probably be recovered very quickly with just the cans lying in its area.

This recycling imitative would not have to stop with just the stadium or an expansion to Hilton Coliseum. On campus as well, bins could be placed to collect cans and newspapers.

The dining centers already have newspaper recycling bins. (And yet the institution that puts out this paper does not – I haven’t quite figured that out yet.)

A few well-placed bins clearly marked “For Recycling Only” would complement those already out there and improve the campus at the same time.

An effort like this, however, would not be successful without action on the part of students. When the Government of the Student Body held their “Meet Your Government Day” on Central Campus, there was a can sack by the waste can, but many students ignored it and cans of Coke and Sprite filled up the wrong receptacle.

While the dorms have bins in dens or kitchenettes for the major types of recyclables, it’s up to the students to make the effort to get them there.

And the reverse when dealing with recycling bins is also true. They are NOT garbage cans. Don’t go throwing napkins and half-eaten hot dogs in something marked “Cans Only.”

Once the bins are around enough, perhaps problems like that would disappear, as it would be common sense to put everything in its place.

Though the implementation of a full campuswide recycling system outside of the dorms may not be a possibility, there is enough of a start already that only a little push is needed.

That little push can start on the weekends, where everyone can have fun and control litter too.

Jeff

Morrison

is a junior in journalism

and mass communication and political science from Traer. He is a copy editor for the Daily