According to the EPA, in 2013 Americans generated about 254 million tons of trash and recycled and composted about 87 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.4 percent recycling rate. On average, Americans recycled and composted 1.51 pounds of individual waste generation of 4.40 pounds per person per day.

Although much of the waste generated is recyclable, the capacity to manage recyclable materials and the demand for recyclable materials do not meet the supply. Thus, much recyclable material ends up in landfills or polluting the environment. It is generally believed that plastics take 400 years to break down, causing a tremendous strain on the environment.

A huge amount of the world’s plastic waste was sent to China for recycling. NPR reported that some 106 million metric tons-about 45%– of the world’s plastics sent for recycling have been exported to China since reporting to the United Nations Comtrade Database began in 1992. However, China passed a law banning the import of plastics for recycling in 2017, the law, which took effect in 2018, has already begun to strain the worldwide capacity to recycle plastic. In the meantime,p plastics and other recyclable materials continue to be produced and discarded at an alarming rate, creating a potentially serious waste management problem.

Waste reduction is therefore a preferable approach to the world’s waste problem. The College encourages waste reduction in all areas of the campus community, including going paperless wherever possible, encouraging the use of reusable and compostable food service items, and limiting the availability of plastic products whenever possible. In addition, water fountains have been installed that are equipped with water-bottle filling capacity to encourage the use of reusable containers. Water-bottle filling stations have been installed at Colonial Hall, Upperman Hall, Martin Hall, Criswell Hall, CLC, and Science Building.

Martin Methodist encourages the campus community to reduce waste and reuse materials whenever possible and to recycle waste when it is generated. Recycling containers are available throughout campus for the campus community to discard recyclable materials. Recyclable materials are collected and transported to a county-operated collection center. The Biology department records the volume of recyclable materials generated helping to track the school’s progress in effectively collecting recyclable materials.

Ensuring the availability of clean, fresh water both now and in the future is an important consideration. As the World Wildlife Fund reports on their website, “Fresh water is vital to life and yet it is a finite resource. Of all the water on Earth, just 3% is fresh water. Although critical to natural and human communities, fresh water is threatened by a myriad of forces including overdevelopment, polluted runoff, and global warming.”

Water quality can be impacted by industrial and agricultural pollution as well as pollution caused by fertilizers, pesticides, and fuels used in residential and institutional settings, like colleges. Everything that runs into the rivers and streams can eventually be found in drinking water. Many drinking water systems rely heavily on chlorination to treat water for harmful microorganisms, but this process does not remove toxic chemicals from drinking water.

Water should be treated as both a limited resource and a threatened one. The College takes steps to conserve water and to protect the local watershed from contamination. Water conservation measures include maintaining lawns at optimum heights, which reduces the need to waste water in irrigation. Likewise, drought-tolerant plants are used for landscaping reducing the need for irrigation and eliminating wasteful watering practices. A layer of mulch is also applied around trees and beddings to retain moisture at the roots of trees and shrubbery to prevent water loss in the beds on campus.

Careful grounds-management practices also reduce the need for spraying harmful pesticides and fertilizers, which may end up as run-off in nearby rivers and streams. Trees and plants that are hardy and drought-tolerant and lawns that are selected based on the local climate are less strained and require less watering, fertilizer, and pesticide. In addition, the grass clippings left behind from proper mowing of lawns provide an effective fertilizer and eliminate the potential for chemical run-off.

In buildings, plumbing fixtures are replaced with low-flow options to reduce water consumption whenever possible. This includes low-flow showerheads and faucets, as well as waterless urinals and low-flow toilets to conserve water. The housekeeping staff uses microfiber cleaning tools that require less water for cleaning, and the staff is trained in cleaning practices that conserve water.

The ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager also tracks water consumption in each building helping to identify areas where water conservation practices may be employed.