Environment
story by andrew Kiraly
P h o t o g r a p h y BY C H RI S T O P H ER S M I T H
Tara Pike is UNLV’s tireless recycling guru.
A deeper shade of green
Meet some dynamic people and businesses whose green credentials are more than just a feelgood sales hook What did you do for Earth Day? If you watched the obligatory National Geographic special on the rain forest and rode your bike to McDonald’s, well, it’s better than most of us probably do. But there’s always room for improvement, right? Inspiration has arrived. In an age when the word “green” is a mere marketing snare to flatter the consumer conscience, there are some folks out there with true green cred. Here are a handful of them — Southern Nevada people, organizations and businesses doing real things to reduce waste, save energy and keep our one and only home planet a bit more tidy.
Recycling is everywhere One recent morning, Tara Pike is counting off the successes of Rebel Recycling Program — how the program collects about three tons of recycling a day from campus (not counting 900 pounds a day of organic waste), and then there’s how the Rebel Recycling crew has grown from two student helpers to today’s small army of staffers, student part-timers, and petty offenders doing community service — when she’s interrupted by something more pressing. “Hold on,” says Pike. “I have to load the table.” She pops up 20
Desert Companion
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from her chair. In the adjacent Tara Pike room, she starts hefting trash Before: Under a cans like a pro wrestler, dumpfledgling program, ing garbage on the broad table UNLV recycled two for sorting. tons of waste per That’s Pike — a hands-on, week. down-in-it, walk-the-talk recyAfter: Under Pike’s cling guru. She’s a committed program, UNLV vegan who buys her clothes at recycles three tons of thrift stores and totes her lunch waste per day. (today it’s pumpkin soup) in a repurposed peanut butter jar. Her office is a faded gray trailer that sits hidden on the southeast corner of the UNLV campus like a dirty secret. This is where Pike (full title: solid waste and recycling manager and sustainability coordinator) has helped turn the campus into one of the valley’s most inspiring recycling success stories. Since penning her undergraduate thesis in 1995 on how to improve campus recycling, she’s stuck around to make it a reality. In July of that year, the Board of Regents approved a $1 per student per semester fee to kick-start the program.