According to the Princeton Review, The University of Tennessee has one of the most unsightly campuses in the country. The litter can range from the random broken beer bottle on the steps of Ayres Hall, the numerous deposits of cigarette butts outside the library’s main door or the hoards of garbage left over from a game day. A newly-formed group wishes to change the status of this littering problem prevalent on campus.
The Volunteers for Litter Prevention began this Fall Semester as part of a graduate course in public health.
Brooke Thompson, one of VLP’s founding members and a graduate student in public health, said the goal of VLP is to reduce solid waste litter in and around the university’s campus.
“We have three main objectives: to increase both KPD’s and UTPD’s awareness that enforcing the litter laws is their responsibility and that they need to be more active in enforcing the laws, that UT and the City of Knoxville need to place more trash receptacles in public areas, and lastly to change people’s attitudes towards littering,” Thompson said.
“What we want to do right now is to increase awareness of litter and its negative impacts on the community and the environment. We feel that students need a deterrent … in a form of a fine,” she added.
The citation for public littering is $10, according to the UTPD. Thompson as well as the other members of VLP feel that the fine is not enough to deter students from littering.
“What we want are officers spending some time patrolling out of their cars and go on foot patrol or on bicycle. VLP feels that (litter) is the UTPD’s responsibility. College students typically don’t have lots of extra money, therefore a hefty fine for littering could grab their attention and hopefully deter them from littering,” Thompson said.
A majority of students agree that litter needs to stop, but many believe the person, and not a hefty fine, should stop the littering.
Amanda Crisp, senior in hospitality management, thinks promoting litter-free habits now is when it matters.
“We need to take care of the place where we go to school, because the habits we form now will stay with us. It is a matter of making people want to take care of the school rather than adding additional garbage cans or hiring more UTPD, because people will still litter even with the additional garbage cans,” Crisp said.
Crisp said she agrees with the VLP and their stance on a higher fine for littering.
“I think people would stop littering. I would stop if I were charged $25 or more for littering, and if repeat offenders were fined more, I am sure it would slow down the litter on campus,” she said.
Captain Keith Lambert of UTPD said that citations for littering do not happen often and that having officers look for litterers would undermine their job in protecting students.
“Litter is obviously a problem, and I see some merit to their request, but it would be very difficult to have officers watch for litter,” he said. “There are a few citations issued each semester, but they are not that common.”
Different options remain such as encouraging friends to pick up the trash they just threw on the ground or using one of the many trash cans on campus, Thompson said. If all 28,000 students were to pick up one piece of trash a day, the university would drop down in the ranks of “most unsightly” to rise up on the ranks of “best improved” or even “most attractive.”
