Program
to increase CSULB recycling efforts
Ecology:
CSULB has implemented a project aimed at
encouraging students to recycle.
By
Cherie Otto
On-line Forty-Niner
Everyday
Alvin Alejandrino and Raymond Hartwell rummage
though blue plastic bins separating the
cardboard from the plastic. The two men
say they are not very pleased with students
who do not take time to just throw recyclables
in the bright-blue bin.
"It's
kind of mixed, some people don't take time
to use it, they just see it as a trash bin,"
Alejandrino said.
"We
find a lot of trash and recyclables still,"
Hartwell added.
In
2003, Cal State Long Beach generated 3,850
tons of 'waste,' according to Jon Root,
integrated waste management manager.
"The
more aggressive we are at keeping these
resources out of the trash, the more successful
we will be at achieving our waste diversions
goals and reducing our disposal costs,"
Root said.
One
idea that was developed this year was the
placement of blue recycle cans, along with
regular trash cans, inside each student's
room in the some of the residence halls.
Waste management "decided to pick on"
the Parkside Commons, which consists of
nine buildings with around 1,000 students,
Housing and Residential Life Director Stan
Olan said.
When
the recycle can is full, students have to
walk to the end of the building and dump
it in the larger recycle bin. Some students
admit they are resistant to the change.
One sophomore, who remains nameless said,
"We haven't used them yet."
Junior
Amanda Bing said, "I put paper in it."
"Let's
just make it as easy to recycle as it is
to throw out the trash," Olan said.
Olan
also commended John for all the effort he
has put into CSULB since his start at the
campus about 2 years ago.
"John
is on the right track, if they separate
the recyclables from the non-recyclables,
we're more than halfway there." Olan
said.
Because
this project is so recent, officials are
unable to comment on how well it is doing
so far.
"The
part we don't know yet, is how well we're
doing... but there are things in the recycling
bin." Olan said. "It's probably
fair to say there's always a group of students
very interested in recycling, but getting
everybody interested is a different question."
With
more people starting to recycle on campus,
it is necessary that the recyclables are
collected more often so it does not pile
up. Root, who has been nicknamed "the
trash man" said he has that situation
well under control.
"We
have trash cans throughout campus that are
serviced daily by the grounds and parking
crews, as well as cans inside classrooms
and restrooms that are also emptied daily
by the custodial staff," Root said.
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