As of June 1, for the first time in years we have a coordinated university recycling program. Is that not more reassuring than the rumors that blue bins filled with recyclable materials were being ferreted off to the landfill?
Accusations of disorganization, the underlying evils of recycling in general and the overall chaos of the process are flying about like daggers. But when it comes down to it, recycling is really not that complicated.
Here is how it works. The bins are nicely labeled so you know what to put in them. They are delivered to campus buildings in a phased process, so just because you don’t personally have one yet, it does not mean that you will be left alone for eternity in the grim world without the means to recycle your paper waste.
The day will come when you, too, will be able to sort through the mess on your desk and ask yourself, “Should I put it in office pack or mixed paper?” At this critical stage, the key is to remember that office pack is basically the stuff you have in your office — white paper. Mixed paper is everything else (i.e. this newspaper).
Although from outside of the program this may seem confusing, it’s actually functioning quite well, with 15 tons of paper collected during the first four weeks. As the quantities of paper collected continue to grow, there is more revenue generated to cover the costs of the program.
In other words, as the Weyerhaeuser company buys our waste paper, our program pays for itself and becomes self-sustaining.
Weyerhaeuser has made an incredible business out of recycling. In 2004 alone, it recycled more than 6.7 million tons of paper — more than enough to pack six football stadiums full.
Recycling is an easy way to make the U a more sustainable campus.
By putting your paper in the bin, you help reduce the number of trees cut down and therefore “close the loop” because those materials are used again, hence the classic symbol of three arrows chasing each other around and around.
Paper has an amazing lifespan that is almost as good as a cat’s — it has eight lives. Sadly, it is still the largest contributor to landfills in the United States and is the largest recyclable waste at the U.
That is why we have a new recycling program, and that is why we need your help to recycle. The Associated Students of the University of Utah Board of Sustainability will be working hard this year to communicate with the campus community and help the program run as smoothly as possible.
If you don’t have access to bins yet, just be patient. It takes time to distribute thousands of bins and coordinate their pickup. They are headed your way, one bin at a time.
Lindsay Clark is an associate director of the Board of Sustainability and is working this year at the new Office of Sustainability.
