1. Greekcycling
Sean Hakim, Zachary Cheshire, William Economy, Daniel Weisman, Andrew Yi, Matt O’Brien
Proposal:
The greek community is the leading source of improperly disposed-of recyclable waste.
Greekcycle will address this problem by implementing a recycling system throughout the Georgia
Tech Greek community to minimize our detrimental environmental impact; reducing waste by
means of recycling aluminum cans, and plastic cups is our initiative. By using our already well
established positions in the Greek community, we will collaborate with each chapter to raise
awareness and increase recycling around campus. Sustainability starts now and Greekcycle will
pilot the movement.
Project Description:
Project Value:
Greekcycle is an environmental initiative focused around increasing awareness of recycling
throughout the Georgia Tech Greek community. Greek life makes up 25% of the student population
at Georgia Tech and is an active social community, which unfortunately also produces a significant
amount of waste. Nearly all of the waste created by the Greek community is thrown directly into the
trash, even the recyclable materials. The goal of Greekcycle is to reduce the Greek community’s
negative environmental impact by encouraging recycling and the reduction of waste in Greek
houses. We will work with each chapter to put recycling bins in their houses, campaign to raise
awareness of our new initiative, and implement new group recycling pickup locations so all
organizations can participate. In addition, an award will be given to the Greek organization that
contributes the most consistently, which will encourage participation in the recycling program.
Recycling helps reduce our environmental impact and the ecosystem as a whole, but is neglected
due to inconvenience and lack of awareness. By getting the Greek community to recycle we can
make a major impact on the Georgia Tech community and help the community's overall
sustainability through awareness and action.
Sustainable Communities Diagram
Land and Nature Stewardship, Care for Earth, Care for People, Education and Culture
2. Project Benchmarking:
Currently, there is an initiative going on at Georgia Tech to raise awareness about recycling. There
are two locations where Greek houses can recycle, one between ZTA and FIJI and one in the Wreck
Lot behind AXiD. One of the major problems with this approach, however, has been connecting with
these organizations and implementing programs. We, as Lambda Chis, have not been included in
these efforts, and honestly had no idea that there was even a place for Greeks to recycle on campus
until we started researching for this project. This sentiment was echoed by many people that we
talked to at other fraternities and sororities. This is the main difference between our plan and the
current plan in place. We have many connections in the Greek community and will be able to
communicate our plan to each and every chapter on campus. Also, by raising awareness, and
adding an incentive, we will raise personal efficacy. After a couple semesters of advocacy, recycling
will become the norm, and the houses will simply do it because they’ll feel like that’s the way they’ve
always done it. The difference between a successful and an unsuccessful project is often down to
how aware people are of the project, and having an active role in the Greek community will go a long
way toward increasing the success of the project.
Another reason why the current project hasn’t taken off is because of the location of the recycling
depots. They are both within one block of each other at the northeast corner of the Greek
community, which means there are only a few houses within reasonable walking distance to dump
recycling bins. Our initiative calls for multiple group pickup locations to be set up around the entire
Greek community. Chapters can leave out labeled bags of recycling on a certain day of the week in
a location central to several houses to be picked up by waste management. If recycling continues to
be the inconvenient thing to do, and simply throwing out recyclables remains as the easy thing to do,
then it’ll be impossible for any recycling program to gain traction. By putting recycling pickup
locations in more localized areas, more houses will have easy access to them and will want to
participate.
Constituents:
The Greekcycle team has reached out to multiple organizations on campus to gain support
for our cause. First and foremost, we have contacted every fraternity that is a part of the IFC
(Interfraternity Council), discussing our goal of increasing recycling among the Greek community.
We received numerous responses from chapters stating that they were more than willing to support
3. and take part in our project. The GT Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling as well as the
GT Office of Greek Affairs have agreed to partner with us in hope of increasing the amount of
recycling among Greek houses on campus, an issue both departments have been trying to address
for years. In determining the most logical placement for the pick up locations, we contacted the GT
Office of Solid and Waste Management. The Office of Greek Affairs has expressed interest in our
project’s goals and method of implementation and has agreed to help us in seeking the approval for
the new Greek Sustainability Committee. They have also assisted in connecting our team with the
Greek community to help spread the word about our initiative. We have also reached out to Georgia
Tech’s Office of Campus Sustainability and the SGA Sustainability Committee who have supported
our plan and are willing to help implement it. For departmental approval of the recycling sites we
have reached out to Georgia Tech Facilities as well as Capital Planning.
Contact Information
Office of Greek Affairs
Phone: (404)-894-2002
Email: amanda.fishman@studentlife.gatech.edu
Address: 353 Ferst Dr. NW Atlanta, GA 30332-0285
Office of Solid Waste Management
Phone: (404) 385-0088
Email: recycle@gatech.edu
Address: 947 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0350
Office of Campus Sustainability
Phone: 404-894-7529
Email: sustain@gatech.edu
Address: Lyman Hall, Suite 111 225 North Avenue Atlanta, GA 30332
4. SGA Sustainability Committee
Phone: 404-894-2000
Email: natleonard@gatech.edu
Address: 225 North Avenue Atlanta, GA 30332
Project Funding:
$4,880=Total
Solely with the funds from Greenovation, we can successfully implement this initiative. We have
been working with the GT Office of Solid and Waste Management to determine the cost of picking up
the recycling, but we hope that our new locations can be rolled in with the rest of Georgia Tech’s
recycling pick ups. With a pretty low total cost, we believe that additional funds may not be
necessary to assure these changes are lasting and impactful. Georgia Tech is expected to pay for
the weekly pickups and we are in discussion to make this happen.
Project Success:
To assure that our efforts are lasting and impactful, we desire to create a bigger picture of
sustainability around the Greek Community. To do this we are starting a Greek Sustainability
Committee which will be a part of the Greek Neighborhood Association. Our team plans use this
committee to meet with every Greek-affiliated house at the start of the project’s implementation to
inform them on how to recycle and to spread awareness on both the environmental benefits and the
sustainability award. The committee will meet periodically to assess the issues the program is facing,
address the root causes and possible solutions to these problems; they will also begin to assess
other sustainability initiatives around campus.
5. To inspire efficacy among individual chapters, we are creating an award that will be given to
the chapter that is most impactful on campus sustainability as judged by the Greek Sustainability
Committee. The award will be given out every year to the house that most consistently participates
in the recycling program and will play a part in the judging of the Dean Dull Award, which recognizes
Greek excellence.
Project success will be measured by the consistent usage of the recycling locations. To
assure this the Greekcycle team will perform periodic check-ups with the houses to encourage
participation and discuss any issues and criticisms.
Project Timeline:
October 7th - Proposal Submitted
October 25th - Poster Presentation
Before Thanksgiving- Hear back from committee
1st week of January - Order the bins and bags for each house. Hold Greek sustainability committee
meeting, explaining expectations and incentive program.
Rest of January - Set up wooden crates for pickup locations
February 1st 2 weeks - talk at each house’s chapter and explain recycling system and incentives
program
March - December, bi-monthly reports on recycled waste, winners will be awarded predetermined
rewards.
Project Implementation:
The biggest two barriers to feasible implementation of Greek recycling on campus are
organization/planning and participation. Based on the information gathered from a small recycling
pilot, we can work with the Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling to guarantee that the
pickups actually occur. We are currently working with them, Greek Affairs, and Georgia Tech to
ensure its success. To aid Greek houses in being diligent with recycling proper materials and
throwing the rest in the trash, the Greek Sustainability Committee will meet with representatives from
6. each Greek house to discuss what can be recycled as well as how to make recycling easy and
accessible for all members. The topic can first be discussed at a Green Neighborhood Association
meeting so each house manager can let members know that recycling will be coming soon. A Greek
Sustainability Committee is in the process of being created to promote the recycling, hold the
individual chapters accountable in regard to enthusiastic participation, and ensure the Office of
Waste Management and Recycling continues to pick up the recycling. Our incentive program will
help keep track of each house’s consistency in participation and provide more of a reason to
contribute to campus sustainability. This is a very attainable goal and we believe we have a plan
strong enough to implement a successful recycling program.
