From Dave Morrill, Asst. Recycling Coordinator: Earth Week events were wonderfully successful. Thank you to everyone who participated and attended.
The Trash Audit on Wednesday showed some very interesting results. We collected 30 bags of trash totaling 117 lbs. from all over campus. Eco-Reps helped separate out the recyclable materials and the results are below. (Percentages are rounded).
24% of materials, by weight, found in the trash were recyclable.
We also found 10 usable items including:
• several unopened bottles of Gatorade,
• bowls
• a laundry basket
• a folding tray
• and a whole roll of garbage bags.
Remember we have a re-use room in the basement of Elliot Hall where you can drop off items you no longer want but are still functional.
One third of the trash collected, by weight, was compostable (food waste and other organics).
We continue to look for ways to compost these materials on campus or in the region. If we did it would cut our waste disposal costs, and carbon footprint significantly while producing a valuable soil amendment.
Trash 49.5 lbs.- 42%
Compostables 40.5 lbs.- 34%
Plastics 9 lbs.- 8%
Media 6.5 lbs.- 6%
Paper 5.5 lbs.- 5%
Metal 2.5 lbs.- 2%
Glass 1.5 lbs.- 1%
Textiles 1.5 lbs.- 1%
Cardboard 1 lbs.- 1%
Total 117.5 lbs.
There is certainly room for improvement here, but overall this shows most people on campus put their recyclables in the recycling bins.
Way to go KSC recyclers!!!
