Spring Break
Physical facilities evaluates cost effectiveness of outdoor recycling bins
Alison Covey and Austin R. Fast
Issue date: 12/5/08 Section: Campus
According to Ansley, most other college campuses have to ship their recycling to an outside MRF. Instead, Miami's MRF brings in revenue from selling cans and other material it collects from campus recycling sites to maintain its operations.
Adam Harris, an off-campus senator in Associated Student Government (ASG), said the idea for outdoor recycling bins started a couple years ago as environmental groups on campus took the project to physical facilities.
Ashley Perry, vice president for the Residence Hall Association, wrote a bill with Harris' help recommending outdoor recycling bins.
The bill went through ASG and university senate last spring before being compiled into a report that physical facilities reviewed in the summer and fall.
Ansley said she worries that adding more recycling bins to places like Slantwalk could create biohazards for employees who separate the items inside if students drop trash inside while walking home late at night.
Although Miami has not yet determined if outdoor recycling bins are cost effective, Stefan Linder, president of Miami's environmental club Green Oxford, believes this project is crucial.
"It's very important to have outdoor recycling bins on campus because many students and faculty would otherwise throw away recyclables in the outdoor trash cans," Linder said. "Say, if a student finished a bottle of water on their way to class, they now have the opportunity to recycle it without going out of their way to find a recycling bin somewhere else. It makes it a lot more convenient to recycle. And it's a good step towards creating a more sustainable campus."
Adam Harris, an off-campus senator in Associated Student Government (ASG), said the idea for outdoor recycling bins started a couple years ago as environmental groups on campus took the project to physical facilities.
Ashley Perry, vice president for the Residence Hall Association, wrote a bill with Harris' help recommending outdoor recycling bins.
The bill went through ASG and university senate last spring before being compiled into a report that physical facilities reviewed in the summer and fall.
Ansley said she worries that adding more recycling bins to places like Slantwalk could create biohazards for employees who separate the items inside if students drop trash inside while walking home late at night.
Although Miami has not yet determined if outdoor recycling bins are cost effective, Stefan Linder, president of Miami's environmental club Green Oxford, believes this project is crucial.
"It's very important to have outdoor recycling bins on campus because many students and faculty would otherwise throw away recyclables in the outdoor trash cans," Linder said. "Say, if a student finished a bottle of water on their way to class, they now have the opportunity to recycle it without going out of their way to find a recycling bin somewhere else. It makes it a lot more convenient to recycle. And it's a good step towards creating a more sustainable campus."
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