• In February, a monthlong pilot recycling program was conducted in eight dormitories across campus. Program coordinators said it was a success and extended it through the end of spring semester.
• By May, a committee will study data collected from the pilot program to have a clearer idea about how much students would recycle if a permanent, campuswide program were created.
• After that, the committee plans to make recommendations to university administrators about what MSU needs to do to support a campuswide recycling program, including building a new recycling facility on campus.
Source: Ruth Daoust, program education manager of MSU Surplus/Recycling
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Recycling test prompts future plans for program
Eight garbage bags of No. 2 plastics, nine bags of milk containers, 14 bags of aluminum and tin, 33 bags of paper and 59 bags of No. 1 plastics.
This is what a pilot recycling program collected from eight residence hall floors during one month.
The purpose was to collect data and estimate how many students would recycle if a permanent, campuswide program was created. Without one, the bags listed above would probably end up in a landfill, program coordinators say.
"We want to develop a culture when you live in a residence hall that students recycle and that is just automatic," said Angela Brown, director of University Housing and Food Services.
So far, statistics show students:
• Throw out more water bottles than any other recyclable.
• Don't regularly wash out bottles. Dirty and sticky bottles attract flies and are difficult to sort.
• Don't take off bottle caps, wasting time and causing difficulty at recycling centers.
Coordinators said the pilot program was successful and extended it for the rest of the semester.
"From a manager's standpoint, it was fantastic," said Brenda Nelson, complex manager for Akers and Hubbard halls. "Not only for students to do this, but to be motivated. I was very pleased when it got going and when we decided to extend it."
The program is a collaboration between student environmental groups and MSU departments. It began in early February on floors in Williams, Shaw, Holmes and Hubbard halls.
Kate Yelvington, a member of the environmental student group, Eco, collects recyclables on her Williams Hall floor every Friday. The no-preference sophomore said she's glad administrators support the program.
"I really hope people know that this isn't hard," she said. "It's something you can do to improve things around you and make things a little cleaner."
In order to support a campuswide recycling program, MSU will need a new recycling facility, said Ruth Daoust, program education manager of MSU surplus and recycling operations.
Currently, MSU's Office of Recycling and Waste Management doesn't have the space to process the influx of material for a campuswide recycling program, Daoust said.
By May, a recycling committee wants to know how much space the facility would need and where to build it. After that, committee members will make a recommendation to MSU administrators.
The MSU Board of Trustees would need to approve the project.
The University of Michigan has gone through similar steps to create a recycling program in its residence halls, said Jeff Schroeder, U-M's sustainable coordinator for housing.
In 1989, after an environmental student group made a recommendation to create a recycling program, U-M administrators conducted a study similar to what MSU is doing now, he said.
Within two years, a campuswide recycling program was in place.
Daoust said planning for a recycling program at MSU is tentative, and nothing is definite yet.
"We do have some challenges and space is the biggest problem," she said.
Some residence halls such as Shaw Hall and those in the West Circle Complex don't have easily accessible central locations to put recyclable material.
"It is hard to have a daily pickup at some of the halls," Daoust said. "Some have room, but others have limited space."
The committee has to decide whether recycling will come down to the haves and the have nots — meaning only students in halls with the space can recycle.
If the program expands, Yelvington also wants to see the university collect glass, cardboard and boxboard, or cereal boxes.
The committee plans to make recommendations to the administration to add those items to the list of recyclables collected.
Published on Tuesday, April 3, 2007