It’s tough to kick a habit, so a team of interns working with the UALR Sustainability Committee created a 12-step program to reduce individual carbon footprints.

The effort started this month with a campaign to eschew bottled water and instead fill up refillable containers with tap water, a bike drive to collect old bicycles where they are repaired and used by children in Little Rock, and a coat and winter clothes drive.

Each week until Earth Day, the interns are encouraging members of the UALR community to donate certain items to be distributed to folks in need.

“Mark your calendars and donate or recycle whatever you can,” said Dr. Nancy Landrum, chair of the Sustainability Committee. “Donation bins for each week’s items are located in the Donaghey Student Center, the Reynolds Business Center, and the Residential Village. Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for reminders about weekly events.”

Next week, Feb. 20 to 26, the interns are looking for old shoes and new socks to fill up the bins to be picked up and distributed to the homeless.

Other items scheduled for the mass campus recycling effort and other sustainability events are:

• Books to be collected from Feb. 27 to March 3 and donated to local libraries.
• Keep Little Rock Beautiful Citywide Cleanup, March 10
• Batteries to be collected in the bins and recycled by Radio Shack.

Saving the planet doesn’t take a vacation for spring break, March 19 to 24. The sustainability interns suggest replacing car travel with a bus trip.

• Fill the bins from March 26 to 31 with old blankets, sheets, and towels for the Little Rock Animal Village
• Donate working cell phones from April 2 to 7 for Our House shelter
• Bike to campus April 9 to 14 and be eligible for prizes

The sustainability effort will culminate on Thursday, April 19 – Earth Day – with a campus full of activities.

The 12-step sustainability campaign was developed by the UALR Sustainability Committee’s inaugural class of Eco-Interns: Drew Buffington, Aly Signorelli, Eva McKinney, and Brendon Tucker. Join the campus listserv at SustainUALR@ualr.edu. For more information, contact sustainability@ualr.edu.