PSU is a Pepsi campus… by Emily Perlmutter
November 1, 2023, 12:04 pm
Nittany Apartments
In this photo, there is a plastic Pepsi bottle that was left in the grass. From the picture, we can see that the bottle most likely has been in this area for some time, since there is condensation build up in the bottle.
I chose to take this picture since there are so many plastic bottles thrown around campus. I also chose this specific bottle because we are considered a Pepsi campus, which is very obvious by the discarded Pepsi bottles thrown around campus. It is so simple to throw out these bottles, especially since we have proper bins, such as recycling and trash, on almost every block of campus.
I felt disappointed when I chose to take this photo. The reason for this is because we have so many ways of disposing our trash all throughout the campus. For this specific bottle, there were large dumpsters about 10 feet from where the bottle was thrown. If whoever’s bottle this was took an extra 20 seconds to walk to the dumpster to dispose of the bottle properly, it would not be sitting in the grass. Plastic bottles such as these Pepsi bottles are made of hard plastic, meaning it will take years to decompose. I would like to believe that whoever’s bottle this was made a mistake and did not intentionally throw the bottle into the grass.
Overall, I believe if everyone took an extra few seconds to find a trash can or recycling bin, our campus would have less bottles thrown in the grass. For every bottle left in the grass, it adds more time of decomposition and affects the environment. It is our job and responsibility to make sure our planet is clean, since we only get one. If we allow ourselves to throw trash everywhere, we will be destroying our land and this will have a large impact for our future generations.
Emily Perlmutter is a second-year student majoring in early childhood and elementary education, with a minor in special education. She is from New York and hopes to one day have her own classroom where she can educate young children.