University recycling rates continue to rise.
Last year’s figures show that Ohio University is closer to reaching its goal of recycling 80 percent of campus waste by 2016.
Unfinalized figures show that the recycling rate during the 2013-2014 academic year was about 65 percent, said Andrew Ladd, OU’s Recycling and Refuse director. That’s up from 59 percent during the 2012-13 academic year.
“That 65 percent represents all the traditional recycling such as paper, bottles and cans,” Ladd said. “But also includes a lot of efforts behind the scenes such as food composting, recycling categories like lightbulbs, electronics, batteries, books, toner cartridges, etc., as well as massive reuse and donations efforts such as what occurs at move-out.”
Ladd said OU is quickly moving toward having zero waste. Composting options have been instituted at large university events, such as basketball and football games. OU has also instituted a “Zero Waste” catering option, which means waste from those events will be 100 percent compostable and recyclable, Ladd said.
“Event organizers need only to communicate with Catering and Campus Recycling,” he added.
OU has prioritized sustainability and has encouraged the practice in university programs devoted to reducing waste, Sarah Davis, an assistant professor in OU’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, said in an email.
“The composting facilities, for example, provide key infrastructure for recycling wastes that is not common on college campuses,” she added.
Recycling rates on campus have increased for a number of reasons, said Geoffrey Dabelko, professor and director of environmental studies at OU, in an email.
Some people are simply realizing that certain items are valuable and shouldn’t necessarily be discarded, he said.
“Through tireless efforts of students, staff and faculty, there have been changes, big and small, that contribute to higher recycling rates,” Dabelko said in an email. “On a day-to-day basis, it is becoming easier to recycle a longer and longer list of items.”
@taymaple
tm255312@ohio.edu
