The city of Tempe and ASU will show they have more than a minute for the environment at their Earth Day celebrations Tuesday.
Multiple events in downtown Tempe and on campus aim to bring attention to conservation and recycling.
The city is sponsoring a 5-kilometer walk with the ASU School of Sustainability starting at the Tempe Center for the Arts, as well as collecting shoes for the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program and holding a Green Expo — where companies discuss their environmentally friendly products.
"This is our first Earth Day event of this size," said Kris Baxter, a spokeswoman for the city of Tempe. "It was time."
The celebration starts at 5 p.m. and will feature music, a costume contest and vendors, she said.
"It's just a great way to get people out and show support in person," Baxter added. "It's just going to be a lot of goofy fun."
The city expects about 350 people at the walk, which raises money for the School of Sustainability scholarship fund, Baxter said.
"The more students come out, the more money we'll raise for the school," she said, adding that registration for the walk will be open until just before the race.
Sustainability graduate student Andrea Baty said she would be walking with a group of other students.
"I always celebrate Earth Day," Baty said. "I try to live a sustainable lifestyle."
To promote this lifestyle to others, Baty helped organize a display on campus from the School of Sustainability, Ready Aware Devoted Recycling and College Affair magazine. Booths at Palm Walk and Tyler Mall will provide information about recycling and reusing to students. Participants information about recycling and reusing to students. Participants will also hand out reusable grocery bags and energy-saving light bulbs donated by Arizona Public Service.
Baty said she hopes students will change their daily behavior based on the events and will take sustainability beyond Earth Day.
"I hope they'll see different ways to be sustainable in their daily lives," Baty said.
Rod Groff, the program manager at the Global Institute of Sustainability, said Tempe is known for being green.
"I think Tempe has been a phenomenal leader in sustainability," he said.
The city had the first recycling program in the Valley in 1998, Groff said, and also allows residents to recycle all types of plastic.
"We have a good history when it comes to recycling and reusing," he said.
In addition to recycling the traditional paper, glass and aluminum, the city has been working with Nike to recycle athletic shoes.
For the last few years, Tempe has participated in the Reuse-A-Shoe program, which turns shoes into sports surfaces.
Last year, the program built six sports facilities in New Orleans.
"It keeps the shoes out of the landfill and reuses them in a positive way," said Shauna Warner, in the city's Neighborhood Services office.
So far, the city has collected more than 10,000 shoes from its nine permanent collections sites, including one on-campus at the Student Recreation Center.
"Your shoes get a second life," Warner said.
Between the Earth Day events and other year-round recycling efforts, Baxter said Tempe residents show they care about sustainability.
"Tempe has always been progressive when it comes to the conservation of our resources — celebrating all things natural," Baxter said.
Things to know if you go...
Tempe Earth Day 5K
April 22, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Registration fee: $20
- Earth-friendly costume contest at 6 p.m.
- Race starts at the Tempe Center for the Arts and runs along the south bank of Tempe Town Lake.
- Beatles tribute band Ringo McLennonson will perform.
- The first 300 to register will receive a canvas bag.
Reach the reporter at: claudia.koerner@asu.edu.
