Advice on Starting a Recycling Program at My College...?

Question

Hey, Im a student at a community college in Virginia. There is no recycling at all here and I want to start a program. I have a meeting about it with the dean of the school soon. Any advice? Like, does anyone know of a place to get really inexpensive recycling bins (that the school could buy)? Im not even sure who would bring the stuff to the recycling center. I feel horrible though every time I go into the computer lab and there are hundreds of sheets of paper in the trash and tons of bottles in the trash around campus. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

The best thing to do is do a little research before meeting with the dean. First call your local trash disposal agency (or the city waste management department) find out if they will collect recycling at the college and how much it would cost. The maintenace department at your school could give you this information. Often times they can provide you with recycling bins at a minimal cost. Also you do not need special bins. For example in computer labs you can decorate boxes as collection sites or for cans and bottles use any large plastic trash container and maybe paint them to distinguish them as recycling. Also do a literature search for social psychology articles at your library. I know of at least 5 studies that have been done regarding recycling on college campuses. This will also help you obtain statistics on the reduction of trash, the beautification of the campuses, etc to help you sell your proposal to the dean. Contact the student life office on your campus. They can advise you on how to find other students interested in recycling and get their help. Besides the start up you will need to advertise the program and maintain it. Also if you are considered a student organization you should qualify for money from the student activity fees paid by every student. Finally, do some internet searches and library searches for grants to help fund the project. You may also want to solicit the managers of local home improvement stores like Home Depot or Lowes for donations. They may be able to donate or reduce the price for collection bins. The more prepared you are when you meet with the dean the higher your chances are for his support. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

The smartest thing to do is find a large organization already on campus and join it or get them to be on board with you. You need a voice to do this right. It could be yours alone or the voice of a whole fraternity,sorority, sports team, etc. Once you have them setup a committee and begin giving out responsibilities. One person contacts all the recycling centers within 500 miles and finds out procedures. One person contacts a large firm or business in the area to find out what they do to recycle and if they would help fund a program for you with the recycling buckets. Contact the maintenance, make friends, because you maybe adding a lot of work to their jobs. Good Luck!!!!!!

Answer 3

Start up a recycling commitee. Hold some fundraisers like a concert , bake sale, fun run etc. and use the money to buy bins and find out some more information. I'm sure your local council has a policy on school recycling and would be more than happy to advise you.

We did this in my school and it worked a dream.

Answer 4

The first thing to do is to find out if there are any plastic bottle recycling opportunities out in the greater community. In other words, if you gather up the plastic bottles will you be able to get them entered into a recycling stream without trucking them out of area at your own cost. If there are recycling opportunities out in the greater area, then contact those people to find out how/if they pick up on campus. The second thing to do is contact either your ASB or the campus administration about the concept of recycling on campus. What are their concerns and hurdles? What type of support can/will they provide? Can you get the space and dumpster required by the garbage collection company? Then you think tank about what you can and cannot do. What hurdles exist and how to over come them. - It is far better to start small with one barrel and do well than to blow a larger project. With a small, successful start you can always build. With a large bust, you could set the whole concept of recycling back at your school. As you go along, however, not everything will be hunky-dory nor ideal. Do be sure to perform honest reviews of your program, revisit solutions for hurdles and problems, and work for continual improvements. Towards containers, it is amazing what a plastic bag lined cardboard box can do. Once/as you discover success, you may want to expand into containers. By then, you will have a better idea of what you need in terms of design and volume; before you've spent much in money. Ultimately, you may find that something larger on a pallet is a better idea; it might allow for easier removal and for a longer holding time. Does your campus already have some sort of a "green" organization? If so, you might want to approach some sort of partnership with them. With respect to "fund raising", first see if there is a recyclable on campus that can actually earn you all some money; aluminum cans come to mind. It is also possible that through recycling, as opposed to landfilling, that your college will save some money. Maybe you can get them to turn those savings back into additional investment into things like containers. Two other areas that many college campuses can gain great landfill, garbage can savings are in paper waste, corrugated cardboard, and organic, biodegradable, food waste. Sometimes, there is a paying market in used paper. This means that there may be someone in the community waiting, willing, and able to take your campus paper waste; again, even if you don't get paid, you may be able to reduce your dumpster space/weight enough to realize a savings. Food waste from campus kitchens is often weighty, volumous, and already centrally located. If the greater community is not composting organic, food waste you may be able to find a chicken, hog, or other type of farmer who is willing to take this type of waste from your college. You are not likely to earn income from this type of endevour but, the garbage collection savings is likely to be large enough to realize on a balance sheet. Corrugated cardboard is another type of product that has a market out in many communities. Again, the primary goal should be to realize savings in reduced landfill destined, dumpster charges. It is also possible that additional recycling opportunities and savings could be realized from campus maintenance and renovation operations too. This would require one to find a destination out in the First, find out what is available out in the greater community for recycling. Second, work with administration for what is possible and support. Third, start with small successes and go from there.