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	Vol.7, No 9, September 14, 1999
	Recycling center makes campus greener By Johnna Walker Daily Forty-Niner Vanishing rain forests, plastic bottles floating in ocean habitats and the depletion of the ozone layer have left many people concerned with the protection of the environment. Amid this trend of saving the Earth, recycling has become a popular form of personal contribution to this quest. Some people have started separating their trash into two parts, one to go on the curb on trash day and the other to be recycled.  That is where a recycling center comes into the picture. "I don't think of recycling as an option anymore, and we have the facilities to make it convenient," said Kirsten Stava, student manager of the Cal State Long Beach Associated Students Inc. Recycling Center.  This division of A.S.I. is located adjacent to Parkside Commons on West Campus. Since 1970, the center has attracted an increasing number of people who recycle plastic, glass, aluminum cans, and other recyclable materials.  Recycling pays off in more than one way at the center. Not only are participants helping conserve the environment, but the center also pays a redemption fee for certain products. The center pays 5 cents per pound of glass, 42 cents per pound of plastic and $1 per pound of aluminum cans to students. The $1 students receive for aluminum cans is a benefit that applies only to CSULB students. The general price paid to the public for aluminum cans is 85 cents per pound. Even though students have this incentive to recycle at the center, many of them do not take advantage of the facility, said Stava.  "A lot of students donít know were out here," she said. The center is utilized not only by students but by surrounding residents of the center as well. Fewer people have been visiting the redemption center in recent times, she said.  This decline in business is what Stava calls a depressed market. She credits this to competition resulting from the increasing number of recycling centers in California. Both the drop-off center, where materials can be donated, and the redemption center are open to the public six days a week. The center is closed Tuesday. The center's six student employees serve anywhere from 200 to 700 people per day.  "I want to do my part in helping," said nearby resident Dorothy Ellridge. "I just can't throw anything away that I know will pollute the environment, and I've been coming here for years to do it."  After combined contributions have been sorted into specific bins, they are put into a machine called the horizontal bailer.  This machine is the step between loose materials and compressed materials that are ready to be sent to the transfer center. It is after these products are bailed and sent to the transfer facility that the center receives money from the state, according to the amount of goods they collected.		Jason Steinberg/ Daily Forty-Niner Lakewood resident Harold Siegal uses campus Recycling Center every three to four weeks, feeling that recycling is a "good deed" that everyone can participate in.                                                                                                       Ex-worker accuse of abuse Muslims stay devoted on campus Sci-fi writer shares her experiences Journalism department has new faces Campus construction draws criticism Recycling center makes campus greener Actor portrays famous Gold Rush-era herbalist Faulty local freeways Presidential campus praise Allegations fly in defense of writing exam Hip-Hop radio show bounces 'Legacy of Kain' shines Outer realm has right elements Santana focuses on young crowd LBSU athletic events in tune Only three LBSU runners make trip to invitational Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.