Greeks Go Green wants whole greek community to recycle

The greek community is banding together to reduce IU’s carbon footprint through the organization Greeks Go Green.

The group started when junior Clare Crosh noticed residents of her house, Phi Mu, did not recycle.

“I really thought it was important to care about our environment,” Crosh said. “It’s weird for me to not recycle. I grew up with it.”

Last semester, Crosh founded Greeks Go Green with friend and Alpha Chi Omega member Brittney Banks. The club is now registered with the Student Activities Office.

The group had its first call-out meeting of the semester last Wednesday, Sept. 10 but only 13 houses were represented. In the second meeting, Sept. 17, 15 houses sent members.

In an effort to get more chapters participating, Crosh sent out e-mails to the president of each chapter in the Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, as well as the Multicultural Greek Council and the National Panhellenic Council.

“Our first goal is to get recycling for all the houses,” Crosh said.

Attendees at the Sept. 17 meeting explained what their houses are currently doing to recycle. Some houses already have sustainable programs, some just started and some have not begun.

Junior and Sigma Alpha Mu member Brian Socol said his house currently has no recycling program because of the cost.

“It costs more to recycle, so we need to figure out a price point,” Socol said.
Crosh said the club plans to raise money to purchase high-quality bins that will last a long time.

For a house of 100 people, 10-12 recycling bins would be needed. Each bin costs about $28 and an additional $23 for the lid.

To cut back on the costs, the club wants to do a fund raiser, such as a 5K run. They also plan to sell T-shirts and Nalgene bottles to members of the greek community.

Sophomore and Alpha Chi Omega representative Meredith Elzea said houses want to have recycling programs but don’t know how, so Greeks Go Green wants to teach each chapter how to have sustainable recycling.

She also said she joined the club after seeing wasteful behavior throughout the greek community.

“You go to frat parties and you see so many cans being thrown away,” Elzea said. “People eat

pizza and throw the boxes away. It’s easy to throw it in a bin instead of a trash can.”
Socol also said his house has plenty to recycle, instead of throw away.

“Fraternity-wise we have a lot of recyclables, so that could make a huge impact,” Socol said.

But while IU’s club is still in its beginning stages, the University is not the first to start a Greeks Go Green club. Crosh said it is also a national organization, but she declined an invitation to join.

“I wanted to be by ourselves to see what we could do without an organization over our head,” Crosh said.

Crosh also said she hopes the greener greek community inspires other communities in Bloomington.

“If people realize the greek community can get together, we can set an example for what other communities can do, such as off campus houses and apartments,” Crosh said. “Hopefully its going to have a positive impact.”