Lifestyle Project Week One

The majority of my week consisted of organizing the specifics of my project. I live in the Phi Delta Theta house on campus and I have been aware of the amount of aluminum cans we go through and how we lack the proper recycling amenities that much of the other living residences on campus enjoy. I believe our house is one of two houses that does not have a recycling program. In this project I will be designing a recycling receptacle that will have cut outs that will only accept cans that have been crushed. A can crusher will be attached to the receptacle. Because the cans will have to be crushed will mean that the cans must be emptied minimizing the event of a smelly sticky recycling bin, and maximizing the amount of cans able to fit into the receptacle. On top of that who doesn't like to use a can crusher!
I haven't decided if i will use the facilities on campus (recycle dumpsters) to recycle the cans, or collect the cans and take them to the recycling center and make some money. I think the second would be a great incentive to my fraternity house to recycle more, so that in the process of consumption we are recycling what we were once wasting. Essentially I would much rather try to minimize multiple people's carbon footprint with this project. I may even encourage some people to adopt their own recycling patterns, who knows people might change if their is a reward involved. If we raise enough funds with the recycling program we could invest in more recycling bins and get every residence hall to recycle on a more regular basis, or have a recycling party! That will have to be decided in the near future. I'm excited to create my first prototype of this receptacle for some reason, I feel like it will be a productive and fulfilling project in the end!