GCSU’s Office of Sustainability and Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life are holding a “Pre-Greek Week Glass Drive” on March 4 and 25, and April 13-15 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the West Campus Glass Shed.

To donate, the Office of Sustainability is instructing students to only bring glass bottles, jars, etc. that are no bigger than 5 inches in diameter. They also ask that glass be organized into bags labeled with the associated organization.

When students arrive at the recycling shed, volunteers will be ready to weigh and log the pounds of glass for specific organizations. 

GCSU implemented its glass recycling program in 2021 to increase its waste reduction portfolio. 

Glass bottles or containers that are 4″ or less in diameter can be recycled by tossing them into one of the designated collection bins on campus, according to GCSU’s Office of Sustainability. After that, the glass will be sorted by color and cleaned to remove labels and residue. Next, glass is crushed into tiny pieces. Then, contaminants are removed from the glass and melted into new glass products. 

“Oftentimes, glass can’t be recycled with other things,” said Hailey Meaders, a sophomore psychology major and a member of Delta Gamma. “It ends up in landfills, so it’s helpful to the environment to dispose of it properly.”

Recycling glass helps the environment by saving energy, reducing carbon emissions, and replacing the need for raw materials.

“It’s important that we don’t just throw away all this glass that we use because there’s nothing to really break it down in the landfills,” said Kenadie Garcia, a freshman biology major and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. “It’s always good to be self-conscious about what you’re putting into the environment.”

Participating organizations in the Pre-Greek Week glass drive will compete to donate the most glass, with winners earning points toward Greek Week.

Greek Week, which takes place April 13-19 of this year, is an annual competition between Greek organizations on campus. Different competitions that make up Greek Week are the Glass Drive, trivia, various intramural sports, Sing, Step and Greek Goddess.

However, throughout the year, organizations earn points towards Greek Week by logging service hours, participating in the Pre-Greek Glass drives and participating in Panhellenic events.

Ashlyn Rowland, a junior criminology and psychology major, is the Vice President of Panhellenic Relations for Delta Gamma. She is in charge of coordinating all things Panhellenic relations, representing Delta Gamma, including the Glass Drive. 

“Greek life is participating in the Glass drive to better dispose of glass and help keep our planet cleaner,” Rowland said. 

The glass drive contributes to the Greek Week competition by fostering competition while also contributing to the benefit of the environment. The competition encourages participants to collect as much glass as possible to benefit their organization while also promoting recycling and helping the environment. 

“The importance of the glass drive is to ensure people learn the importance of disposing of glass the proper way and to encourage a friendly competition within Greek life,” Rowland said.

The Glass Drive is a very popular competition in Greek Week because many students utilize glass in their daily lives. Beverage jars, pasta sauce cans and candle jars are the most popular elements noticed in the glass drive. 

Rowland mentioned she has been saving her glass since the previous year’s Greek Week for the third year in a row.

“My roommates and I have a growing collection of glass to donate for the drive,” Meaders said. 

Many students will stockpile and save up their glass items, starting months before the first glass drive. Additionally, students who have a heart for volunteering or have a need for service hours can sign up to volunteer at the glass drive drop-offs on GivePulse. 

“Being Greek is doing good,” Meaders said. 

For more information, contact the Office of Sustainability at 478-445-7016 and @gcgogreen on Instagram and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at @gc_fsl on Instagram. To volunteer, visit the GCSU Sustainability Givepulse.