OFFICE OF FRATERNITY AND SORORITY LIFE

DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS AND

ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
Post Office Box 8097 - Statesboro, Georgia 30460
Telephone: 912-478-5185 - Fax: 912-478-1409

Public Relations Contact:

Elizabeth Butgereit
770-365-6163
Eb02415@georgiasouthern.edu
October 28, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TWO STUDENTS PASSIONS COLLIDE TO CREATE CHANGE IN THE GREEK COMMUNITY
Students come together to inspire an increase in Greek recycling efforts
STATESBORO, GA While interning in Bozeman Montana, Chris Kimbrell, Interfraternity Council Vice President
of Judicial Affairs, immediately took notice of something incredible: everyone participated in recycling. When he
came back to Georgia Southern for school, it didnt take very long to find a similar need in the Greek community
and set out to address it.
Soon after returning to Statesboro I attended a social event. The next morning I was looking around at the mass
quantities of trash left over from the party going to the dumpster. It was then that I realized that nearly all of this
trash was recyclable in some form. I knew that this was a chance to operate at a larger scale, and a chance to affect a
large community, said Kimbrell.
Little did kimbrell know, another student, Allie Giresi, had already begun leading a similar sustainability effort.
Giresi, the Panhellenic Association vice president of financial affairs, currently interns for the center for
sustainability and serves as an unbiased entity in weighing and recording the recycled materials.
I attended tailgates up and down Greek Row and saw a need for the tailgate program to start there due to the ample
amounts of aluminum cans and plastic bottles going to waste in the garbage. With the great support of Dr. Leege
and Center for Sustainability team we kicked off Greek Recycling in the Fall of 2014.
Using the tailgate recycling program template already created by Giresi, Kimbrell kicked off The Greeks Go Green
initiative at the beginning of the 2015 Georgia Southern football season. The Center for Sustainability provides 11
Greek letter organizations with large recycling bins for their fraternity house at no cost. After each football tailgate,
fraternities pick up the recyclable materials, bag them, and bring them to Kimbrell and Giresi to be weighed. The
fraternity that collects the most (by weight) is reimbursed up to $200 for their tailgate security costs by the
Interfraternity Council. Additionally, the chapter that collects the greatest combined weight by the end of the year
will receive $500 towards the philanthropy of their choosing and win the Sustainable Chapter of the Year trophy,
displayed in the Greek Life office.
The Greek leadership is taking an important step with the establishment of Greeks Go Green on the Georgia
Southern campus. By incorporating Sustainability principles into the mission and activities of the Greek system,
fraternities and sororities will help to plant the seed for a lifelong commitment to Sustainability. This will reap great
benefits well beyond the boundaries of Georgia Southern as these students carry Sustainability awareness with them
and take on leadership roles in the world, said Lissa Leege, the Director of the Center for Sustainability.
Today, Kimbrell and Giresi have collected more than 465 pounds of recyclable material and hope to expand the
program to include more Greek organizations in the future. Giresis initial tailgate recycling effort paired with

Kimbrells Greeks Go Green initiative have produced an effective method to address harmful waste management on
campuses across the country.

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A UNIT OF THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION

-What inspired you to start the recycling program?

There was already a tailgate-recycling program on campus at Paulson Stadium each game day that the Center for Sustainability
was in charge of. Being heavily involved in both Greek Life and the Center for Sustainability I felt a need for these two
programs to coexist and do something great. I attended tailgates up and down Greek Row and saw a need for the tailgate
program to start there due to the ample amounts of aluminum cans and plastic bottles going to waste in the garbage. With the
great support of Dr. Leege and Center for Sustainability team we kicked off Greek Recycling in the Fall of 2014.
-Why do you think the program is important?
The Greek Tailgate Recycling is extremely important due to all the excess waste produced on Greek Row during tailgates. This
program allows us to redirect the waste and recycle it for the betterment of our community.
-Have you learned anything valuable since the start of it?
I have learned so many things watching the Greek Tailgate Recycling come to life. The most important thing that I learned was
that if you teach and explain the importance of recycling to members of society, they will recycle.
-Where do you see the program five years from now?
Five years from now when I come down to visit Georgia Southern during game days, I know that this program will be thriving
and doing extremely well. Over time, this program will become second nature during game days. If we all start using the
recycling bins now, when the new members of Greek life come, they will see that we use the recycling bins and they will
automatically use them. Every year it will just keep getting stronger and stronger.
If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to ask