STATESBORO  — Recycling properly is something to remember when celebrating those special moments on campus. 

With graduation approaching, senior pictures will be taken on campus with champagne and confetti as usual. While the turn out for these pictures are great, many seniors leave the campus covered with trash from their glitter and confetti bombs. 

Cami Sockow is the program coordinator for Georgia Southern’s Center for Sustainability. CFS has a mission to educate people on how to properly recycle and make positive choices for the environment. 

“Students can help keep our campus clean by thinking through where their ‘trash’ lands,” Sockow said. “If you throw waste in a trash bin, it ends up in the landfill, if you through or leave it on the ground, it eventually ends up in rivers and oceans, if you recycle properly the item you toss could potentially have a new life.”

A suggestion for seniors is to use biodegradable confetti. If regular confetti is not properly disposed of, the litter can be consumed by wildlife and end up in waterways. Additional props could also harm wildlife, according to Sockow, and need to be thrown away as well. 

“The Center for Sustainability is largely here to help educate students on the positive choices they can make in relation to sustainability,” Sockow said. “We help people understand  how to recycle properly, teach students how to grow their own food, and provide general education on environmental issues. We are here as a resource for the campus community and help to facilitate campus sustainability initiatives.”

Sarah Smith, The George-Anne News Editor, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu