Board members of “Greeks Going Green” environmental biology junior Kristin Merony of Alpha Omicron Pi, left, environmental policy senior Ashley Schopieray of Delta Gamma, right, and human biology and psychology senior Vytas Karalius of Sigma Chi, back, started a competition between the Greek houses of who could collect the most recyclables. Merony said that of 5 or 6 houses that have collected they have totaled 3,000 water bottles, 200 pounds of newspaper, 1,500 solo cups and about 300 cans. The group has already taken two truckloads and two cars full of recyclables to the recycling plant.
Almost 3,000 plastic bottles. More than 200 pounds of newspaper. Almost 100 magazines and more than 550 cans and bottles.
These numbers reflect the amount of recyclable materials left scattered about lawns, on front porches and crushed into the sidewalks around East Lansing and MSU last week.
The figures are the result of the Greenest House Competition, a cleanup effort organized by the MSU chapter of Greeks Going Green Inc.
The organization promotes environmentally friendly living practices for sororities and fraternities.
The level of participation from members of Kappa Kappa Gamma helped them win this year’s competition, interdisciplinary studies in social science and environmental policy senior Ashley Schopieray said.
She is the director of events and competition director for Greeks Going Green.
The competition began Oct. 17 and pick-ups lasted through Sunday.
Individual sororities picked up and bagged recyclables and those bags were picked up by the executive board of Greeks Going Green.
The MSU chapter was founded in the spring by environmental biology junior Kristin Merony, a member of Alpha Omicron Pi.
While 12 of the 13 sororities on campus participated, none of the fraternities were involved, Merony said.
“They were all invited to join in this effort,” Merony said. “We just really want to get the word out that the greek community is trying to recycle and live in a sustainable manner.”
Although the fraternities didn’t participate, the vice president of the MSU chapter of Greeks Going Green. is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.
“When it was being formed, I wanted to be a part of it, before (the Interfraternity Council) rejected it,” Vytas Karalius said, a human biology and psychology senior and vice president of Greeks Going Green.
The Interfraternity Council, or IFC, decided not to participate because not all the fraternities wanted to be involved and the IFC wanted to stand as one, Karalius said.
Still, he hopes that the IFC will get involved next year.
“I think that with IFC support it could be much larger and more effective,” he said.
During the weekend of the MSU football game against Ohio State, three sororities collected about 700 plastic bottles, 70 pounds of newspaper, 1,433 Solo cups and 450 cans.
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