Mindanao State University - General Santos Campus (MSU-GSC) faces what one may call the 'Confetti problem'; its festivities are all shades of fun until reality settles on the ground, and celebrants are left with a monumental task of cleaning up. Right from the 2023 Intramurals' day one, the university quadrangle has seen its fair share of litter that riddled the grounds. Plastic bottles and wrappers are scattered with the absence of a clear lack of disposal means within the perimeter, leaving an underlying flaw of the university's 50th anniversary and Intramurals festivities laid bare: t(rash)ed, rash and trashed, with an underwhelming amount of waste management and sanitary procedures, leaving the reality of cleanup and environmental health as an afterthought.
A sudden influx of vendors, stalls and foot traffic within MSU-GSC means an increase of waste, mostly from food and other product packaging. Within the perimeter, what may have replaced designated trashcans and garbage bins are piles of uncontained litter piled in random spots on the quadrangle’s Bermuda grass. During the opening ceremony itself, the crowd of students and other people alike hid the amount of trash that would be later on left behind.
Surprisingly, however, certain measures were already in place prior to the occupation of stalls within MSU-GSC. Mama Kaj, one of the stall owners who entered the campus for this year's Intramurals, stated how the MSU-GENSAN Vendor's Association had already informed her of related guidelines regarding their waste disposal. Unfortunately, despite her compliance to leaving waste in designated pickup areas, the piles of waste near her stall were still left stagnant way before the beginning of the Intramurals, since last Monday, October 2.
With a lot stalls set up this year, one would have expected a better waste disposal system that shall counteract or at least match the anticipated amount of litter that will accumulate during the Intramurals celebration. What any average MSUan will be met with, though, are heaps upon heaps of waste, despite the 2023 Intramurals barely even being on its second day.
What happened to CLAYGO, clean as you go?
Although Intramurals would normally only last a few days or a week, it is imperative to recognize the necessity for environmental responsibility: what the university's celebrations lacks in duration of its Intramurals and celebration, it makes up for with a steadily growing amount of garbage that may as well be part of the decorations given how much they are ubiquitous within the grounds.
What MSU-GSC can use is a memo on how it can better improve its waste management: firstly, as the Intramurals 2023 progresses, and secondly, in any future major events the university shall be seeing through.
Seating plans or area designations, for one, might alleviate the problem of littering everywhere. Assigning colleges to specific areas may increase accountability on performances regarding cleanliness and organization, especially if competition is thrown into the mix. Just as how college parades are subjected to criterion that enhances their competitive spirits, stimulating their competitiveness in matters such as most disciplined, organized, or cleanest college areas might just do the trick. An effective way to perpetuate a standard, after all, would be to appeal to ego and offering bragging rights, the so-called ‘clout’ that may be seen as an incentive for following or attaining desired standards.
Apart from carrot-and-stick measures, MSU-GSC can impose fines that will lend more awareness for littering during its Intramurals events. On the part of vendors and stall owners, on the other hand, requiring identifying marks on their packaging or providing better waste disposal guidelines are only to be expected as a basic standard.
Just as how stall owners are subjected to hefty fees for space rental, electricity and other expenses not yet included, they deserve to be met with the same amount of effort and allocation of resources, even if it is just something so simple, yet for some reason, unaccomplished acts, such as collecting the trash on time to avoid pests and infestation. Managing the accumulation of pollution within the campus, after all, not only falls on their shoulders, but falls in the hands of everyone else that is involved, as well.
Alongside MSU-GSC’s festivities, recognizing and addressing the festering problem of waste management and disposal is a pressing matter-- a confetti problem. For a university such as the MSU-GSC, with its 50 years of excellence in academics and various other disciplines, something such as waste management and environmental accountability supposedly is nothing but a trifling matter; such a basic and crucial aspect, especially at a time when it is needed the most, is now a stinging thorn in its side.
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