Editor:
I agree with Karen Hunt’s Nov. 11 column, “The Economics and Environmentalism of Trash.”
I come from a country where people are very involved with recycling. In Thailand, they recycle everything, not just to save the environment, but also to keep the cost of living down and to earn extra money.
Twenty-five years ago in Thailand, people threw papers, cans, bottles and everything else away. Five years later, they learned that by doing so, they were causing the cost of living to jump sky high. The trees were gone, the mountains went bald, the land was flooded and it would take more than 100 years for each tree to grow to the size that could be cut to make papers. Each textbook now costs one half of a full-time worker’s salary for a month.
Everyday in my social work building, I pick up at least five paper copies of The Chronicle and five aluminum cans out of the trash cans and put them in the recycling bin nearby.
Many times, my fellow students have looked at me funny, some have giggled loudly enough for me to hear and some have laughed behind my back. I believe I spend more time picking up items to be recycled than studying for my classes.
Why can’t we do it together, so I can spend more time doing my homework instead of worrying about how half of my paycheck will go to my children’s textbooks when they go to college?
If BYU can have a comprehensive recycling program, why can’t the U?
Nuchanaad Martin
Junior, Social Work