Taking care of our Earth is more imperative today than ever before. Recycling contests and ridiculous figures challenge us to do our part to save the world.

In light of the launch of “RecycleMania,” an eight-week long national contest held by the College and University Recycling Council, we’ve discussed the necessity of a contest to encourage the community to recycle reusable stuff.

On campus, there are recycling containers in every building. Off-campus, most apartment complexes and landlords provide recycling containers to tenants. Maybe we’re just lazy, or maybe it is a true inconvenience for people to recycle if it hasn’t become part of their daily routine.

Promotion of recycling has become a staple at this campus. We have a task force dedicated to sustainability initiatives and continuously advocate recycling. There are posters abound in every hallway tacked up on the bulletin boards.

Unless it’s shoved in your face, recycling still manages to fall by the wayside for some people. Roommate arguments ensue due to one’s lack of environmental responsibility, but with enough force from one side, taking out the plastics and aluminum cans is doable.

Since the age of plastics, we’ve accumulated enough plastic to wrap around the Earth in the form of plastic bags six times over, according to Werner Boote, director of Plastic Planet, a new film exploring the dangers of the material.

If contests and exorbitant figures are the only way to emphasize the need to recycle, keep it up. Competition makes the world go round, and we should challenge ourselves to see what we’re capable of saving. As the smartest beings on this planet, we have the means to sustain it and take care of it by reusing what we have. Take advantage of the hundreds of recycling containers on campus. Ask your landlord for recycling containers, if you don’t already have them. Make it a part of your day to throw your soda bottle into the blue bin instead of the brown. Take your old notes from that class you never really cared for in the first place, and recycle the paper. Do some research on what can and can’t be recycled.

Recycling doesn’t have to be a chore; it can be something fun, and you’re doing your part as a human being by saving the earth from consumption one bottle at a time.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent State editorial board.