Getting the Most Out of the Trash
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Everyone has seen it. Not just on campuses, but also at at airports, conference centers and about any place recycling bins stand next to trash bins. An observer can see harried people approaching the bins and stuffing a trash into the recycling and recyclables into the trash. It seems like there’s an obvious distinction between the two bins, but after several people make the same mistake within a few minutes, the observer might conclude that something is amiss, and it’s not necessarily the cognitive abilities of the passers-by.
This is the crux of what Southern Polytechnic State University, in Marietta, GA wrestled with when they took a sample of the waste generated in a week on campus, spread it out on the campus green and started sorting. Considerably more than half of the “trash” was not trash, but recyclables and compostables slipped in with the refuse. Now they’re trying to figure out what to do about it–how to change a pervasive mindset of “one bin for all purposes.”
Have you tackled this problem on your campus? How did you approach it?
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