With recycling bins now in place all over campus, students should have plenty of opportunities to recycle, administrators say. But the question still remains–will students use them?
Organizers of the new recycling program say the success of the plan lies mainly with the efforts of students and faculty.
The U department of plant operations and the Associated Students of the University of Utah are initiating the project.
Students have pushed for a recycling program for years, said Plant Operations Director Cory Higgins and leaders from ASUU, but they lacked the funding and research necessary to gain the full support of the administration.
In 2005, ASUU raised $95,000, which it used to hire Cascadia, a waste-management consulting group.
Cascadia determined that a self-sustaining recycling program, which would need no additional funding after the start-up cost, was well within reach on the U campus.
Now, with $310,000 allotted from the ASUU budget and a new recycling board on the student government’s executive cabinet, students are planning to make the U’s waste management practices more environmentally sound.
The success of the program, however, seems to hinge on the willingness of students and faculty to change old habits when throwing away paper and other recyclable items.
Higgins said conservation is part of human nature.
“People want to do the right thing,” he said. “But if it’s going to be inconvenient or difficult, it’s tough.”
Paper and cardboard collected will be sold to help offset the costs of starting the new program.
Patrick Reimherr, director of the ASUU Recycling Board, said if students will act responsibly, the program will succeed.
“The program and its success rests in the hands of the students, and everyone needs to do their part,” Reimherr said.
Organizers stress the importance of not contaminating collection bins with food and other non-recyclables. The ASUU Recycling Board has adopted the motto “contamination kills.”
“Above anything else, it’s important that students learn how to recycle correctly,” said Lindsay Clark, associate director of the recycling board.
If recycling bins are filled with contaminated goods, the bins will not be sorted through to save the recyclable items, Clark said–everything, including recyclable materials, will be thrown away.
The U has posted directions above each bin so students know what they can and cannot recycle.
ASUU is also trying to raise awareness about recycling by increasing its marketing efforts. Representatives from the board will have tables to teach students about recycling at freshman orientations and events such as Redfest.
Later in the year, ASUU will establish a website where students will be able to track the progress of the recycling program.
This coming winter, the U will participate in “Recycle Mania,” a recycling competition with Utah State and BYU. Although details of the contest have not yet been determined, ASUU said the competition will last a few months and they will take the size of the school into consideration when measuring the amount of recycled items.
“If nothing else, the BYU rivalry should get people stoked about recycling,” Clark said.