2008 Woodie Awards
Stronger efforts in recycling needed here on campus
Thomas Oliver
Issue date:
4/23/08
Section:
Opinion
I thought that the Olympic College community might be interested in hearing about progress on our recycling project. We have made some major progress.
In Bremerton, the volume of our recycling has doubled this year, and we are anticipating further gains as more recycling containers are distributed around campus.
The Poulsbo campus is opening their recycling program during Earth Week. The Shelton campus has been leading us all along. They have had an active recycling program for years, and continue to recycle a large amount of their waste.
We are making progress, but there are challenges with which we need your help. Part of this is due to custodial and maintenance issues. Our signage has not been consistent and is not always located correctly. In some cases there is no signage at all to help people know about recycling. There has also been some confusion about which containers are for trash and which are for recycling. Facilities has committed to correcting these problems.
Here is what we need you to do. Everyone has to participate for this initiative to work. No matter how many recycling bins and signs we put out, it is up to everyone to be conscious of the program, and not mix trash and recycling. Mixing the two makes it all trash that cannot be recycled. If there is no clear signage to indicate that a receptacle is for recycling, treat it as a trash can.
Unfortunately, what is and is not recyclable varies from place to place. Here are the rules for the Bremerton and Poulsbo campuses (Shelton is different - get information at the student center).
Trash is:
-Glass
-Lids (if you put a lid on your bottle the whole thing becomes trash)
-Food Products (including cups, drink boxes, plastic coated or metallic papers)
-Used tissues and paper towels
-Plastic films
Recyclable materials are:
-Clean Paper
-Plastic bottles (without lids)
-Cardboard
-Aluminum cans
-Tin cans
If we get this to work, it can make a big difference. Every ton of paper we recycle saves 380 gallons of oil and 4,000 kilowatts of energy. Every single aluminum can recycled is worth three hours of television or one half gallon of gasoline. Recycling reduces our dependence on foreign oil, reduces the amount of land we need for landfills, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions (and so global climate change). I think all of this makes it worth figuring out which bin to use.
Thomas Oliver is the Executive Assistant to Vice President of Administration Baraba Martin and a member of the Environmental Task Force.
In Bremerton, the volume of our recycling has doubled this year, and we are anticipating further gains as more recycling containers are distributed around campus.
The Poulsbo campus is opening their recycling program during Earth Week. The Shelton campus has been leading us all along. They have had an active recycling program for years, and continue to recycle a large amount of their waste.
We are making progress, but there are challenges with which we need your help. Part of this is due to custodial and maintenance issues. Our signage has not been consistent and is not always located correctly. In some cases there is no signage at all to help people know about recycling. There has also been some confusion about which containers are for trash and which are for recycling. Facilities has committed to correcting these problems.
Here is what we need you to do. Everyone has to participate for this initiative to work. No matter how many recycling bins and signs we put out, it is up to everyone to be conscious of the program, and not mix trash and recycling. Mixing the two makes it all trash that cannot be recycled. If there is no clear signage to indicate that a receptacle is for recycling, treat it as a trash can.
Unfortunately, what is and is not recyclable varies from place to place. Here are the rules for the Bremerton and Poulsbo campuses (Shelton is different - get information at the student center).
Trash is:
-Glass
-Lids (if you put a lid on your bottle the whole thing becomes trash)
-Food Products (including cups, drink boxes, plastic coated or metallic papers)
-Used tissues and paper towels
-Plastic films
Recyclable materials are:
-Clean Paper
-Plastic bottles (without lids)
-Cardboard
-Aluminum cans
-Tin cans
If we get this to work, it can make a big difference. Every ton of paper we recycle saves 380 gallons of oil and 4,000 kilowatts of energy. Every single aluminum can recycled is worth three hours of television or one half gallon of gasoline. Recycling reduces our dependence on foreign oil, reduces the amount of land we need for landfills, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions (and so global climate change). I think all of this makes it worth figuring out which bin to use.
Thomas Oliver is the Executive Assistant to Vice President of Administration Baraba Martin and a member of the Environmental Task Force.
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