A holistic approach to Yale environmentalism
With new buildings providing only limited progress, small improvements must bring change.

BY KRISTIN BRIGGS

Cyril “CJ” May is the pony-tailed guru of Yale Recycling. Down below Welch Hall, surrounded by blue bins and save-the-environment ads, May doesn’t hesitate to dole out recycling boxes, pro-conservation magnets, or a sustainability story to any Yalie willing to brave the basement. Yale hired May in 1990 directly after his graduation from the School of Forestry and Environmental Services in an effort to bring the university into compliance with a Connecticut law requiring recycling.

“I took off my T-shirt and put on a tie,” May said.

One of his proudest accomplishments is the ubiquitous dual waste bins—for paper and trash—that now reside under every faculty desk. But for May, the necessity of recycling goes beyond merely avoiding waste—it is a moral and practical imperative. “We really have a tremendous way to go if we are truly to become sustainable,” he said. May referred specifically to Yale’s recycling initiatives, such as pairing all trash cans on campus with recycling cans—giving Yalies in search of a receptacle for their Diet Snapples the chance to recycle. Such problems are not unique to Yale, however; Americans generally throw out twice as many plastic bottles as they recycle, leading to a loss of jobs from factories that need the resources to manufacture carpets or clothing. “We’re not at war, but we are in trouble. There are economic issues as well as environmental issues,” May said.

Yale University, particularly President Richard Levin, GRD ’74, has grabbed the spotlight for spearheading many green projects on campus, from the Yale Sustainability Project in the dining halls to electric cars available for rent. However, David Gibson, a founding member and officer last year in the undergraduate group Envirolution, notes, “The Yale Endowment grew by 28 percent to over $22 Billion over the past year, but at what cost to the environment?”

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