Otter’s Give Cleaning A Whole New Meaning

Greg Tomascheski, Staff Reporter

Gregory_Tomascheski@csumb.edu

Feb.28, 2008

Late at night as students leave their dwellings on campus to partake in midnight

fast food missions, gangs of raccoons stalk the sidewalks from building to building,

sniffing and searching with similar motives.

Though the raccoon population may be benefiting from the increase in food

opportunities, the problem with personal waste disposal on campus is getting worse

and is making the campus look “trashy.” It is apparent most raccoons are pretty

messy eaters and enjoy spreading their findings across the quad as they feed.

Rarely do I find myself walking more than 25 feet anywhere around the dorms

without noticing a loose piece of trash floating across the ground. Sadly the waste

receptacles outside the buildings are often so full and overflowing with trash the

receptacle itself is hardly visible.

The dumpsters where students are asked to dispose of their personal trash are

seldom used and only full during move-in/move-out days.

There are several possible solutions to the trash problem I have considered.

Some are far more practical than others, but for humor sake, I must indulge.

One event I can recall from high school history class took place during the

Middle-Ages. Peasants would use pigs to resolve the issue of excess trash since

pigs have a knack for eating anything that slightly resembles food. The tradeoff

here of course is excess trash for pig excrement. It’s your choice.

Another possible solution would involve a bit more engineering and a much

larger budget. Every dorm room on campus would be outfitted with its own

industrial garbage chute that leads to a giant underground furnace. A weekly supply

of garbage from students would be burned in the furnace and the energy released

could be used to run an emissions-free campus-to-Monterey transit system, or

provide enough power to run the outside lights in North Quad for one 24-hour

period.

My final solution is much simpler and slightly more realistic. Just take the trash

from your room to the dumpster and if you see any garbage floating around on the

way, pick it up and throw it away too.