“Recycling” is a word often used to encompass a wide range of
activities. Recycling is one component of activities that make up
“solid waste management,” planning for and management of the materials
and volumes that make up the solid waste stream. These various
activities can be summarized as the 5 R’s: recycle, reduce, reuse,
rebuy, and rethink (1):
Facilities implemented a pilot program in Founders during May and
June, 2006. The focus of this program was collecting non-shredded
white paper, as shredded paper was already gathered and recycled.
Facilities obtained from City of Kearney several blue containers,
similar in size to the city’s green residential trash containers.
The initial results are certainly encouraging. During May, five
barrels of material were gathered. Nine barrels of material have been
collected as of 6/23. These numbers were higher than initial
expectations, as a result of unexpected capture of material from summer
file purging.
To provide feedback on this process or schedule, please access the "Feedback" link above.
Specific goals and results for the pilot program are noted below:
Goal: Put in place a collection process that requires little
change in typical office operations, and can be adapted to other campus
buildings.
Result: Facilities staff distributed cardboard storage bins to
offices for collection of white paper. These were gathered each
Wednesday, material moved to the blue barrels, and removed by City of
Kearney. Kearney operates one vehicle for gathering recycled material,
and it is possible to collect more material that can efficiently be
processed. Obtaining more blue barrels for campus will help reduce
this impact.
Goal: Does not require additional labor or separation services from Facilities.
Result: The program to date has not had an adverse impact on
completing custodial tasks. The assistance given to those gathering
large paper volumes, through file purging, etc., did not differ from
other paper disposal. To date, there has been little negative feedback
concerning this process.
Goal: Increase collections of white paper to be recycled (excludes shredded paper).
Result: As noted above, 14 barrels of material have been gathered from Founders during seven weeks of collections.
Goal: Compliment, not displace or hinder, existing recycling programs in campus buildings.
Result: To date, there has been little negative feedback concerning this process.