Blackburn Institute

Key is Key in Implementing Campus Recycling

December 16, 2008

On-campus recycling has been implemented on the University of Alabama campus thanks to Kendra Key, a 2007-2008 Blackburn Fellow. Key, a sophomore from Tuscaloosa, is a political science major who serves as an SGA Senator for the College of Arts & Sciences and is a member of the SGA Environmental Concerns Committee.

The SGA Office of Environmental Concerns worked to develop a comprehensive recycling proposal in the fall of 2006. In the spring of 2007, a pilot program was created to test the recycling program in residence halls across campus. Key said that the pilot program went well enough last semester to allow the SGA complete implementation of the residential aspect of the plan this spring. Key is very excited about the growing recycling initiative at UA. She hopes that the program will become a beacon for both the community and the state.

Key says that being in the Blackburn Institute has been a wonderful experience, for many of the fellows have been extremely supportive of her and her recycling efforts. Key said, “They have informed their student organizations and helped brain storm ideas of how to make our initiative stronger.”

Key refers to fellows in the Blackburn Institute as change agents who have the power to make a difference in many different ways. Key said, “We must be conscious of the environment around us. We must be conscious of the resources we are using and the waste we are generating. Each of us has the power to make a difference, and I feel that it is our obligation to do so.

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