'Green Greeks' Take on Litter

The committee has a structured plan to get the fraternity organized on the recycling goals tailored to their fraternity.

Before getting any organization involved, the group first discussed the benefits of recycling with each of the fraternity's presidents and housing managers.

Setting Up a Plan

Once a fraternity agreed to participate, its officers filled out a survey that helped the Green Greeks set a plan for that house's needs and goals. A fraternity liaison was established so that one member would be responsible for carrying out the plans and then would report back to Green Greeks on the organization's progress.

The goals were tailored to meet the fraternity's needs and, once agreed upon, were put into a year-long contract. The Green Greeks believe that having the fraternity's officers sign the contracts would help them take the program more seriously and hold themselves accountable to follow through with their commitment.

The first organization to get involved in the Green Greeks' mission was the Kappa Alpha Fraternity.

The fraternity agreed to recycle aluminum cans after every party and the fraternity liaison was responsible for making sure that everything was carried out correctly. The liaison participated in each clean-up effort and supervised the new members as they loaded up the cans and then unloaded them at the nearest recycling center.

Once a fraternity is adequately recycling aluminum cans, the Green Greeks want to eventually move on to helping the fraternity "go green" in other ways. Making the house more energy efficient and finding strategies for reducing wastes would be long-term goals for each fraternity.

The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, although not yet a part of the Green Greeks' program, still recycles its cans after parties.