What began as a class project has grown into a campus-wide effort to reduce waste at Grand Valley State University.

Thousands of students smoke cigarettes on GVSU’s campus, but few of them know that the butts littering campus can be recycled. That is why Jonathan Neracher has teamed up with Facilities Services as well as TerraCycle in an effort to minimize cigarette butt waste on campus.

When it came time for Neracher and his classmates to address an environmental issue for their capstone project, he said he knew this was the issue he wanted to focus on.

“Doing something like this could make GVSU an example for other campuses around the country,” Neracher said.

TerraCycle was the company to partner with when it came to the matter of recycling, Neracher said.

“The beauty of TerraCycle is that they allow you to send in your waste for free,” he said.

Founded in 2001, TerraCycle is actively involved in advocating environmental awareness around the world.

“We wanted to create a project that would produce something beneficial to help the community,” said Alex Rautio, a member of the group that brought TerraCycle to GVSU.

The highly-awarded recycling company began recycling cigarette butts in 2012, and Neracher said he believes that TerraCycle’s efforts will benefit GVSU’s campus in a very positive way.

“(TerraCycle is) committed to the idea of a circular economy, and makes it affordable to properly recycle,” he said.

GVSU is known for its dedication to maintaining an environmentally sustainable campus.

“By partnering with TerraCycle, Grand Valley is furthering their efforts to be sustainable,” Rautio said. “We wanted to…engage the community in making the campus greener.”

Neracher and Rautio said they hope the knowledge of the butts being recycled will be enough to convince people to stop throwing them on the ground. Rautio said that if students know they can help their community, they might be more apt to discard their cigarette butts, and all of their waste, properly.

“It’s important that students know about the recycling of cigarette butts and their effect on not just the environment, but also campus, so that they can be conscious of their actions,” Rautio said.

Neracher said it is easy to think that just a little more trash on the ground will not hurt, but because GVSU is so close to a waterway, any litter poses an even more serious threat to the environment.

“Recycling cigarette butts is just another step forward to a greener future,” Neracher said.

Facilities plans on implementing the recycling plan as early as this spring.

For more information on how to become involved in sustainability on campus, visit
www.gvsu.edu/sustainability/.

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