In just three hours, participants of the First Annual Campus Clean-Up during Alumni Reunion Weekend collected 285 pounds of litter from across campus, the UC Santa Cruz Sustainability Office reports.
Approximately 150 students participated in the event Sunday, April 26, organized by the UCSC Student Union Assembly and the student-run Zero Waste Team from the Sustainability Office. They collected banana peels, soda cans, bike parts, glass bottles and dozens of other items. As expected, however, micro trash made up the majority of the litter, with cigarette butts and gum wrappers being the most common.
Although cigarette butts only made up about one percent of the waste by weight – three pounds – approximately 4,300 butts were collected, highlighting the persistence of littering issues associated with smoking on campus.
More information and photos can be found on the SUA Facebook page.
