ASMSU officials might support the university building its own recycling facility on or close to campus.
At the undergraduate student government’s Academic Assembly meeting on Tuesday night, a report compiled by Steve Lovelace, the assembly’s internal vice chairperson, said a new facility would be the best option.
Lovelace said if assembly members want to get involved with expanding the recycling program in collaboration with the MSU Office of Recycling and Waste Management, a recycling facility should be built.
“That seemed to be the best idea I could come up with,” Lovelace said. “I want to ask the assembly to see how feasible the plan is.”
If an expanded program were implemented, it would recycle materials such as plastic, glass and assorted paper campuswide.
ASMSU officials wanted to find out if their involvement in a 1996 newspaper program was still relevant.
But newspaper recycling is now run by the Office of Recycling and Waste Management, which took over the program when MSU officials began paying for it in 1997.
Lovelace also offered two other alternatives for members to consider: adding extra recycling bins or hiring an outside hauling company to move recyclable goods to the nearest sorting plant 70 miles away.
Peter Pasterz, manager of the Office of Recycling and Waste Reduction, said he is researching the financial methods to expand the recycling program by building a sorting facility. He said the other options are not economical.
Pasterz is waiting to hear back from an Ann Arbor-based Recycling Resource Systems Inc., a consulting firm hired in January to provide information and cost estimates on building a new facility on or close to campus.
“Over the next several weeks we are getting the proposed expected costs,” Pasterz said. “We have to look at the entire package.”
Pasterz said he has talked to East Lansing officials about building a joint facility, but there are still a lot of unknowns.
“I haven’t seen the economics of partnership with East Lansing compared to the university doing it on its own,” he said.
MSU’s Residence Halls Association began a recycling program six years ago that recycles plastic, pop bottles and newspapers in residence halls. RHA officials reported more than 80 percent of MSU’s garbage is recyclable.
As Andy Prain was walking his dog Tuesday on Grand River Avenue, he said he would participate in an expanded recycling program.
“I would take the time to sort things,” the finance senior said. “I don’t know how many other students would sort things because by and by the rest of the student population is pretty lazy.”
