The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/news/2007/09/28/housing_recycling_policies

September 28, 2007 > News > Housing and Dining seeks to clarify recycling policies

Housing and Dining seeks to clarify recycling policies

By Margeux Clemmons | For the Thresher

Everyday, students throw recyclables into the recycling bins in their rooms thinking they are helping the environment. But now, students are concerned that the recyclable items they place in those bins are being emptied into the regular trash by Housing and Dining custodial staff.

Frank Rodriguez, Facilities Director of Housing and Dining, said the custodial staff within the colleges are aware recyclables are not part of the regular trash. When paper is correctly placed in blue recycling bins, custodians empty the contents into a blue plastic bag and set the paper apart from the regular trash in clear bags.

“One of the biggest issues is that the recycling will be contaminated with other trash,” Rodriguez. “And you know, we can’t have our people picking apart recycling trash.”

Rodriguez said custodians follow student patterns. If students use the blue recycling bins for regular trash because they are larger than the trashcans, custodians will line the recycling bins with clear plastic bags over the blue plastic bags. When custodians find the trash not recyclable, they collect the trash in the clear bag because the blue bags are more expensive. Alternatively, custodians may empty the paper into a blue bag if they see a student has decided to recycle.

Wiess College sophomore Mimi Arnold said the recycling problem lies in the details of the program. She said students are not aware of rules governing what can and cannot be placed in college room recycling bins.

“If the student body knew to only put paper in those recycling bins, it would help,” Arnold said.

H&D also emphasized the 50 gallon recycling bins for aluminum, plastic and glass located in multiple locations in all the colleges. Rodriguez said many college governments had contacted him to obtain apartment recycling bins. Students can use these bins to carry recyclables other than paper and sort them at central bin locations. Rodriguez also mentioned that disparities between college recycling programs are correlated to what the colleges ask for.

Wiess senior Jeremy Caves said the miscommunication about recycling runs deeper than daily procedure.

“There just isn’t this general knowledge at each college about what to recycle,” Caves said. “I think a lot of that stems from what the priorities are when people enter the university.”

Caves said this was the first year recycling information was included during Orientation Week presentations.

“The common reading is a good example of the university trying to take initiative

to make sustainability a big issue,” Caves said. “At the same time, on the action side of how they operate, it’s been a little more nebulous as to what’s going on.”

Rodriguez said there was no organized recycling committee last year.

“Last year there were meetings held by a recycling committee that our custodial supervisors attended, and they got feedback from the students,” Rodriguez said.

Arnold participated in a recycling study during ENST 302, a class about sustainability at Rice and said she found that outside recycling bins were the solutions to neglected recycling. Arnold’s group made suggestions to both H&D and Facilities, Engineering and Planning. However the trash cans with both regular trash and recycling compartments were not feasible, costing nearly $1,700 dollars per iron can. Despite Rice’s difficulties recycling within the colleges, campus wide efforts are growing each year. Eusebio Franco, FE&P Director of Custodial and Grounds, said he purchases new recycling bins and improves procedures each year despite the fact there is no recycling budget beyond what he spends from his general operations funds. Last year Rice finished 14th out of a national field of 111 universities in per capita paper recycling.

Franco said FE&P will provide recycling bins at sporting events and make collapsible recycling bins available at outdoor events like Sammy’s Picnic. Franco recently bought 10 outdoor recycling bins that he might make available to colleges, and he will present them to Student Association President Laura Kelley in the coming weeks.

FE&P have established a recycling committee of 10-12 custodial supervisors that meet regularly to address recycling issues and improvements around campus. The committee is currently planning to place bins near Allen Center.

“One day I do see hopefully a university wide committee of faculty, students, and staff,” Franco said. In the meantime, Sustainability Planner for FE&P, Richard Johnson, attends Environmental Club meetings as a representative.

Caves believes that while H&D’s role in recycling could be improved, students are the best promoters for the program.

“The part that counts is run by students: That’s students informing people about how recycling works, what you can recycle,” Caves said. “If that falls through, the Housing and Dining parts won’t work.”

End of article

Back to top