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by PHILLIP WYATT
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
After our victorious football thriller against Samford Sept. 26, I was en route to my trailblazer, parked in a gravel lot at the intersection of Howard and Water Street.
Upon approaching my vehicle, I was shocked by the sight that lay before me: a slew of trash bags, strewn throughout the parking lot, haphazardly filled with trash. Most left a trail of filth feet behind as they were tossed around, left to accumulate with even more waste in this impromptu landfill.
Trash barrels stood barren and unused, surrounded by abandoned bags from those who just could not quiet make an effort to dispose of their waste.
Jagged shards of
glass from broken beer bottles and crushed aluminum cans were scattered
about, which could potentially injure a pedestrian or penetrate a tire.
I was utterly appalled by the condition tailgaters left this area in.
This
depicted scene has steadily become a far too common occurrence on
football game days around the campus of Appalachian State University,
as well as areas of downtown Boone, thanks to negligent and careless
tailgaters.
I contacted Kelly A. Holton, office manager of Holton Mountain Rentals, whom I rent my parking space from.
Holton
said appointed advisors of parking are supposed to monitor the disposal
of trash and clean up the vicinity after tailgaters have packed up and
departed for home.
She
called the parking lot scene “embarrassing [and] ridiculous,” and
believes some action should take place to remedy the problem.
“Something
needs to be done, even if that means someone losing their tailgating
because they’re that trashy,” Holton said. “It’s so easy to not throw
[trash] on the ground. Just put it in a bag.
“It’s embarrassing [for] all these people from out of town to leave the game and see the lots’ [condition].”
Appalachian has already taken initiative to clean up after tailgaters.
Recycle
at the Rock “is a program targeted to on-campus areas to reduce the
amount of recyclable waste that will otherwise end up in landfills,”
Lydia L. Cardinal, a sophomore geology major and ASU Recycles student
intern said.
During
game days, Cardinal, along with fellow student intern Lindsay M.
Swanson and other volunteers, distribute green recycle bags and black
trash bags to tailgaters to recycle glass, plastic and aluminum and to
properly dispose of waste.
Cardinal
and Swanson receive assistance from the campus ROTC program, which
approached them to help distribute bags to vehicles while directing
them into their parking spaces.
Appalachian landscaping then picks up the bags, which are left by fans at their tailgating lots.
Last year, the program saved over 8.5 tons of trash from our nation’s landfills.
Although
many tailgaters have good intentions of cleaning up after their selves,
the zealous consumption of alcohol inhibits these intentions.
“One of
the biggest obstacles for us is people drinking,” Swanson said.
“They’re really receptive to the idea of recycling in the day, when
they’re sober enough to understand. As the day progresses, things that
can’t be recycled end up in the bags, [which] end up torn or in the
dumpster. It’s hard to maintain that quality of control when people are
drunk.”
Tailgaters need to take initiative and clean up their messes.
If you are going to tailgate in my parking lot, please refrain from abandoning your trash at my expense.
Our campus and community is much too beautiful to undergo such treatment.
The Town
of Boone should develop an initiative to collect recyclables and trash
from areas frequented by tailgaters in order to maintain the safety and
appearance of our environment.
Those
interested in volunteering for Recycle at the Rock can e-mail Swanson
at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
and Cardinal at
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Wyatt, a junior journalism major from Wilkesboro, is an intern lifestyles reporter.
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