Feeling Green: Aiken Tech hosts sustainability expo, promotes protecting the environment

ERIN WEEKS, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read
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Apr. 7—Aiken Technical College hosted its third annual Sustainability Expo on Wednesday morning, an event started by the school's ATC Green Team to promote sustainability and recycling on campus and beyond.

Running booths at the event were EDF Action, Sustainable CSRA, Silver Bluff Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Clean Up Aiken!, Purebred Compost, DHEC, The South Carolina Energy Office, Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness, Keep Aiken County Beautiful and the North Augusta Stormwater Management Department.

"There's a diverse group of people here," said ATC Green's co-chair Jill Ulher. "They're protecting wildlife, our groundwater, our resources, just to preserve them for future generations and to have a cleaner, healthier living space, working space."

Uhler said that this event is a great way for students to "learn about sustainability and what's happening in the community."

Running the Purebred Compost booth was Lisa Wilson, owner of G.L. Williams and Daughter Trucking, along with Delany Tavenner who is the Business Development Manager for the same company.

Purebred Compost is a local provider of compost made from wood debris and horse manure; G.L. Williams and Daughter Trucking recycle asphalt and concrete to be reutilized for fixtures like driveways.

"One person isn't going to make the biggest difference," said Tavenner. "But if everybody looks at it [like] it's their responsibility, then we'll see a lot more difference made. We try to make sure that we're keeping a lot of stuff out of [the] landfill."

According to Wilson, around 5,800 tons of concrete and asphalt were kept out of the landfill by G.L. Williams Trucking in 2023.

Jerry Lang and Kic Young from Clean up Aiken!, an organization that facilitates roadside litter clean-ups in Aiken County, talked about the importance of educating college students about sustainability.

"We've got to get them young, the younger the better, because they can educate their parents, their friends," said Lang.

Allison Hamilton with CNTA was educating guests on the pros and cons of nuclear energy. "Today, we are focusing on nuclear energy and clean energy," she said. "We know there are going to be huge energy demand increases in the next decade — where we get that energy is going to matter for our environment, and that's why we're here today."