Brittany Branyon: Let’s not trash our city on weekends

Brittany Branyon
Columnist
Published: September 12, 2008

Driving through campus Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice the aftermath of Saturday’s football game. Judging by the hundreds of Lays potato chip bags and other remnants of tailgating, one might think we are a town full of slobs.
Rolling Toomer’s Corner after an exciting victory is one thing. It’s seen by many as tradition. But the piles of garbage all over town make one question the pride of our fans. As for me, we always clean up our tailgating spot, and oftentimes consume our game-day beverages in reusable cups, assuring we won’t leave them to become part of the post-game leftovers. And every time I gaze across campus at the refuse of Styrofoam dishes and aluminum pans, I promise myself never to do the same when I come back as an alumna. How can a so-called Auburn fan, student and alum leave their home in such despair?

So many choose to come to Auburn because of its natural beauty and quaint campus. If we want to ensure the Plains remain just that we have to take action to stop the almost weekly destruction. There are many things we can do, but the first step lies with the individual.

Next time you tailgate why don’t you try “leaving no trace”? You might have heard of this in Scouts. Upon leaving your campsite you take everything you brought with you, hence, leaving no trace.

Or like so many active citizens who have taken it upon themselves to contact university officials about the problem, ask what other steps you can take to help. These folks recognize that while we have recycling and trash bins around campus, more must be done. And as for the recycling bins, as silly as it seems many people aren’t aware that certain objects, such as food, cannot be recycled. Every other day I have friends call me from campus asking what they can or cannot throw in the blue bins. Think of all the tailgaters, inebriated or not, who are not accustomed to recycling trying to figure this out.

My guess is while it isn’t rocket science, there are many who will end up throwing their cans on the ground rather than tossing them in a bin they cannot comprehend.

But while the recent reactions have caused a means for awareness, this isn’t the first, nor the last time, there will be such an outcry.

Our town has been trashed for years, at least four that I have witnessed, and there has been little done about it. We used to have commercials shown on the Jumbotron before games featuring Aubie and AU students being “Caught Recycling.” Whatever happened to those?

Donny Addison with Auburn Recycling has done an amazing job trying to tackle this obstacle for years. He has organized game-day clean up crews along with producing commercials that, as I stated earlier, used to air before games. Think of what could be accomplished if the Athletic Department made an effort to spread awareness about keeping Auburn clean.

Brittany Branyon is a senior at Auburn University and is co-chair for the Auburn Sustainability Action Program.