As a fellow University Housing resident, I too have been irked by the recycling contest Joseph Vandehey wrote on in his column in last Thursday’s Emerald (“One recycling contest does not a better planet make,” ODE, Feb. 21). Students should not have to be motivated by the magic word “contest” to recycle. I am reminded of literary criticism essays I read in high school on the value of intrinsic motivation over extrinsic motivation in education. The former comes from within the student while the latter is some outside force, say, a candy bar or an hour of television in return for finished homework. The RecycleMania contest is not exactly the same (I do not believe students receive any prize besides “good feeling”), but it still reminds me of extrinsic motivation. Vandehey writes: “students who only recycle because of a contest have no reason to continue once the contest ends,” which is similar to some viewpoints on extrinsic motivation. The external force only allows for temporary interest.
I whole-heartedly agree with Vandehey’s opinion that students should recycle less by consuming less. With the idea of consuming less comes the importance of reducing non-recyclable waste. The number of garbage bags the residence hall dining venues put out every day is incredibly disgusting. Much of this waste seems to come from paper plates/containers and plastic utensils. I have decided to mainly eat at Carson where the plates and utensils are actually reusable. How much would the amount of garbage decrease if everyone ate at Carson or Barnhart? I am willing to be bet that I would not be woken up as often early in the morning by garbage trucks that pick up trash between the Living Learning Center and Walton complexes.
Lily Robertson
University student
RecycleMania feeds our extrinsic motivators, not the intrinsic ones that would do the most good
Daily Emerald
February 27, 2008
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