OXFORD, Miss. – The Coca-Cola Co. gave away T-shirts made of recycled plastic bottles Friday during the University of Mississippi’s Red Blue & Green environmental awareness campaign.
Five plastic bottles are required to produce each T-shirt, said Chris George, assistant tour manager of the company’s recycling efforts, wearing one of the red shirts with “Not Wasted” emblazoned in white across the front. Coca-Cola has been using recycled bottles since 1991.
“The recycled bottles are washed and shredded, then melted and turned into flakes,” George said. “Those melted flakes are woven into yarn, actually polyester, and that’s used to help make the shirts. We’re turning plastic into fantastic.”
The T-shirts are light on the skin, and George said he believes the fabric feels better than regular clothing material.
“Recycling saves landfill space and creates jobs,” George said. “We’re just trying to do our part one bottle at a time.”
The beverage company’s sustainability efforts have joined forces with UM this year as the campus ratchets up its Green Grove recycling campaign during home football games. Wearing a T-shirt made from plastic bottles may not sound comfortable, but the broader issue is to raise awareness, said Jim Morrison, UM campus sustainability coordinator.
“The point is to show how things can be reused for things we didn’t even realize,” Morrison said. “Throwing something away doesn’t make sense when you know it can be used over and over and over again.”
His message to the thousands of fans who plan to come to campus during football games: recycle. Recycling bins will be placed throughout the Grove and inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and volunteers will be on hand to help collect recyclable materials.
“We are the best in the world at tailgating and we should be proud of that, but the next step is being the best at smart tailgating,” Morrison said.
“Its more than just being green or sustainable. It’s about being more efficient and effective in how we operate. We have to be better stewards of our resources.”
Alongside Coca-Cola, UM’s Students for a Green Campus, founded last year, was also on hand to promote student involvement with the campus green initiative. Students can do a lot to help, said Caroline Williams, co-leader of the organization and a chemical engineering and environmental studies sophomore from Pass Christian.
“There are small things we can do on a daily basis,” Williams said. “Small things like turning off a light can add up to make a huge impact.”
This year, Students for a Green Campus hopes to establish an environmental film series, promote group bicycle rides to the local farmer’s market and work with the local Boys & Girls Club with a garden.
UM’s Office of Sustainability, Associated Student Body, Staff Council, Rebel Pedals, Aramark and other groups all converged on the Union Plaza Friday to help build awareness of environmental sustainability.
For more information on UM’s sustainability efforts, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/green .