Worn cardboard, crinkly white paper and soggy newspaper are just some of the items piled in a campus building off Service Road. These materials, once considered trash, will become more valuable to the university with the grand opening of MSU’s new Recycling Center and Surplus Store tomorrow.
The center is the end result of a $13 million project that began in June 2008 to create the 74,000-square-foot recycling center, surplus store, concrete and metal scrap areas, an outdoor compost area and additional storage space.
The facility will allow the university to sort and bale recyclable items on campus instead of sending them elsewhere, increasing the items’ resale value by about 60 percent, manager Ruth Daoust said.
The center’s completion comes about a year after consistent recycling was phased into all MSU residence and academic halls, project coordinator Jennifer Sowa said.
“We’ve been recycling at MSU for years and years,” Sowa said. “But we saw a need a few years ago to really make it more consistent.”
And since then, an across-the-board improvement in MSU’s recycling results shows the effort is paying off.
The green push
The initial push for consistent campus–wide recycling began in April 2008 with residence hall recycling of five materials: white office paper, mixed office paper, newspaper, #1 and #2 plastics and cardboard, Sowa said. This was completely phased into 553 residence and academic buildings by December 2008.
“Our research showed that people would recycle more if they knew what to recycle, where to recycle and if it was convenient,” Sowa said.
Since the push began, 10 percent less campus waste has been sent to landfills, Sowa said.
Third-year veterinary medicine student Charlotte Lucas said the streamlined, campus-wide program encourages participation.
“In order for everyone to do it, it needs to be accessible,” Lucas said. “Especially for younger students, just being aware that there are opportunities.”
And for the most part, the effort has seen results.
Since 2008, office paper collection has increased by 14 percent, cardboard collection has increased by 13 percent and plastic collection has increased by 57 percent, Daoust said. Newspaper collection, however, decreased by 11 percent, she said.
“We need the students to continue to support this, and help us keep these materials out of the waste stream,” Daoust said.
Making green
Space and technology at the new center will simplify recycling and allow the university to generate revenue from collected items, Recycling Center operations manager Michael Mitchner said.
“The new center will generate revenue, but the prices of materials are constantly fluctuating, so it will vary,” Mitchner said. “For example, right now one net ton of white paper is worth $70 to $75.”
Before, MSU’s recyclables were shipped off-site to be sorted and baled. The new center will allow these steps to be on campus, saving the university money. Mitchner said when white paper is baled at the new center, a ton can be worth up to $200.
It will take about 12 years for revenue from the center to pay off its $13 million cost. Revenue from collected materials, surplus sales and an on–site storage facility for university departments and students will pay for the facilities, Daoust said.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Increased recycling might also add to the university’s cash flow.
In the 2008-09 fiscal year, increased recycling saved the university about $82,000 in landfill costs and in the future that amount is expected to increase.
“We are looking at saving close to $100,000 a year over the next five years by not having materials going to the landfill,” she said. “But we need everybody’s help.”
A greener future
The new center will accommodate three times the amount of material the old center on Harrison Road could hold. The increased capacity is expected to save 28 percent of recyclables from reaching landfills by 2010, Sowa said.
Beginning in January 2010, MSU will add more materials to its list of accepted recyclables, with an eventual goal of regularly collecting box board, all plastics (#1–7) and household metals.
Horticulture senior Sean Noell said the expansion of accepted materials on campus would make it easier for students to recycle.
“It will be a much closer place to recycle,” he said. “Just getting the word out that campus has it’s own recycling center will encourage students to recycle more. MSU needs to be a leader in the community, so recycling and sustainability are things that need to happen.”
Determining what additional items will be accepted at the new center will take time because there must be a demand for the materials from vendors, Sowa said.
“As time goes on and as we find markets for these materials, we will expand.” she said.
“We can’t just collect something and hold it, we need to make sure there is a place where it can go.”
Discussion
Share and discuss “Reduce, reuse, results” on social media.
