Students to make OSU gamedays green

Thursday, September 20, 2007

by Abby Wambaugh, OSU Communications
 

(STILLWATER, OKLA. -- Sept. 20, 2007) -- Oklahoma State University will kick off “Real Cowboys Recycle,” a student-run tailgate recycling program, during this Saturday’s football game against Texas Tech.  

OSU’s Student Government Association and the Stillwater campus’s grass-roots environmental organization, ECO-OSU, have partnered to coordinate “Real Cowboys Recycle.” The program was initiated by biosystems and agricultural engineering junior Cortney Timmons, an Ada, Okla., native who in May became OSU’s latest Morris K. Udall Scholar.

“I’ve been trying to tackle the giant of general recycling all over campus, and I thought this would be a great way to springboard recycling at OSU and in Stillwater,” said Timmons, who is also chairwoman of SGA’s recycling committee.

Timmons modeled “Real Cowboys Recycle” after “Tiger Tailgate Recycling,” a program conceived by University of Missouri students in 2006. She met one of the students, Adam Sanders, a fellow Udall Scholar, at a summer orientation for recipients of the nationally competitive award for students committed to careers in the environment, health care and tribal public policy.

“Adam encouraged me to take the plunge and start a similar program at OSU,” Timmons said. “The program at Mizzou was a great way for students to interact with alumni and tailgaters, and that is something I hope our program promotes, too.”

A recycling hub located at the SGA tailgate site on the north side of Boone Pickens Stadium will include bins for plastics, aluminum and paper. Student volunteers also will visit other tailgate sites distributing information about the recycling program and conservation.

In support of the 2007 OSU Homecoming philanthropy, Habitat for Humanity, aluminum cans will be donated to Cans for Habitat, the national partnership between the Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity International. Recycled paper and plastics will be taken to Allied Waste Services.

“Mizzou collected 12 tons of recycled material at just six home games,” Timmons said. “That fact alone made me realize just how much waste is produced that can be recycled instead of put in a landfill.”

Timmons believes success with “Real Cowboys Recycle” will lead to additional partnerships between OSU’s Student Government Association and other organizations working to promote recycling and conservation.

“Mike Warren, Emilee Lehenbauer and I have been talking about bringing more recycling to our campus ever since they decided to run for SGA president and vice president,” said Timmons, who subsequently became the first appointment to the recycling leadership position Warren and Lehenbauer created.

“SGA has the funds, manpower and pull on campus to make this happen,” Timmons said. “Now all we need are OSU students, faculty, fans and alumni to show what it means to be a real cowboy – and recycle!”  

For more information about the tailgate recycling program, or to help, contact Cortney Timmons at cortnet@okstate.edu.