Humber graphic design students work on recycling awareness

Oct 19, 2012 | News

Manager of Humber Sustainability, Lindsay Walker, is working towards creating a more environmentally responsible school. PHOTO BY BRIAR HOPLEY

By Briar Hopley

Humber’s graphic design students are creating a recycling awareness campaign for the first time.

“I want to create an education campaign around campus to get people to understand how to recycle and what to do and be excited about it,” said Lindsay Walker, Humber’s manager of sustainability, who has spearheaded the project.

Kevin Brandon, graphic design co-ordinator at Humber, said earlier this month students were broken up into groups and began the process of coming up with various ideas, including an online video game, posters, YouTube videos or updates to the website to create awareness.

He said what students come up with depends on why they aren’t recycling properly in the first place. If it’s because “of lack of knowledge or because they don’t know what goes where…or is it just that they’re lazy and they don’t care.”

Once the campaigns focus then they can figure out how to change students’ attitude on recycling.

Brandon said in about two weeks, the students will present their final ideas to Humber sustainability and then vote on what the final campaign will be.

Walker said the idea was sparked when she noticed that students weren’t using the recycling and waste bins properly at the school.

Rahul Mishra, first-year business management student said “there’s a lack of education about recycling.”

Dean Thompson, creative photography student. said he thinks students don’t recycle because, “some people are lazy.” He also said the garbage can labels can be confusing and students may not know which one to put their recycling in. “You have to sort through and you don’t have time for that if you got class. It’s a hassle.”

The recycling campaign will run for two years, beginning in winter 2012.

Humber Sustainability focuses on upgrading the school and educating students and staff in order to become more environmentally responsible.

Walker is Humber’s first Manager of Sustainability and was hired this summer.