After a hiatus of several years because of budget cutbacks and financial problems, District officials are poised to rejuvenate a citywide recycling program. Each day, area residents produce tons of trash that is simply thrown into a big pit, molded into a mountain, shipped somewhere else or burned. Recycling is the best alternative to the creation of new garbage dumps.

As the District revives its recycling efforts, GW also should consider refocusing its recycling efforts. Funds should be allocated to University-wide recycling and GW’s recycling initiative should continue to look for new ways to promote an environmentally conscious institution. The University is moving in the right direction – each room in New Hall is equipped with recycling bins, and the other halls have bins on each floor. With the District rejoining other cities with recycling programs, perhaps it is time for GW reinvest in the Green University project and redouble its recycling efforts.

While the recycling fad of the late 1980s and early 1990s has died down, District residents still must recycle. In the long run, recycling will protect the environment and potentially save millions of dollars for cities and towns across the nation.

In an episode of “The Simpsons,” the town of Springfield over-pollutes the land to the point that it is forced to move the entire town five miles down the road to start over. That may be all right for a cartoon city, but in the real world, the more garbage and pollution that cities produce, the more damage is done to the environment. That’s why recycling is so important – towns can’t just pick up and move.