Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 21

FaCilities

Weighing in on Waste
Several institutions have upped their game when it comes
to measuring waste on campus.

PHotos CoURtesy of ColoRdAo stAte And wPi

By Kristen Lott

Student volunteers sort waste at Colorado State (left) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Is last semester’s homework getting
pitched into the garbage? Are tons of food
being thrown into the dumpster? In order
to find out how to improve recycling and
reduce trash across campus, you have to
dive in yourself, literally. Sorting through
the trash – professionally known as a
waste audit – exposes more than leftover
French fries and involvement fair flyers.
Conducting a waste audit involves
collecting, sorting, and measuring trash
in order to analyze its type, amount,
and origin. Most importantly, an audit
collects metrics on the waste behavior
of a population. “Once you know what
is in your trash, you can form a plan of
attack to reduce the amount of waste you
generate,” says Joshua Belice, chair of
ACUHO-I’s Sustainability Committee.
Once a population is analyzed, targeted
and effective sustainability efforts become
evident. “Common first steps are to
remove the amount of recycling that gets

thrown away, and one way to do that is to
have a recycling receptacle next to a trash
receptacle,” Belice explains.
This kind of analysis is applicable
to every waste-generating location on
campus. For residence halls, common
areas provide the best indicator for waste
behavior in the entire hall. “Is the trash
mostly small wrappers from gum or
pamphlets from a club or pocket lint? If
so, then you’re in good shape,” Belice
says. “ If not, then you might find things
like old class notes crumpled up, maybe a
brochure from a club or organization that
handed you something in passing, or even
that gold necklace (yes, gold) that your
ex-boyfriend gave you last semester that
you just can’t stand to look at for another
minute.”
Small-scale audits can also add to
these efforts. Hall directors and resident
assistants can publicize results to raise
student awareness about what and how

much is being thrown away, as well as
educating them about what can and
cannot be recycled, i.e., their pizza boxes
can’t be recycled with pizza still in them.
Yet changing the whole campus takes
time. “Campus-wide waste audits take a
lot more time, and there is more room for
error, but you can get a better idea of the
climate for your institution if you go big,”
Belice says.
Each spring, Colorado State University
in Fort Collins conducts a campus-wide
audit of all trash generated in one day
while taking part in the national college
and university recycling competition,
RecycleMania. The bags are piled up into
a huge mound next to the campus plaza,
and volunteers sort through them to
find items that could have been recycled
or composted. These volunteers are
essential to completing such a large-scale
assessment. Though some students feel
they can just help out on the way to class,
March + april 2013

21



Talking Stick - March/April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - March/April 2013

Talking Stick - March/April 2013
Table of Contents
New Member Highlight
Vision
Just In
Your ACUHO-I
Transitions
Res Life
Facilities
Regroup
Calendar
A Fair Division of Space
Why They Stay
Conversations
First Takes
Reporting Out
New Members
Snapshot
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Intro
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Talking Stick - March/April 2013
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Cover2
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 1
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 2
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Table of Contents
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - New Member Highlight
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 5
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Vision
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 7
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Just In
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 9
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 10
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 11
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 12
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Your ACUHO-I
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 14
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Transitions
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 16
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 17
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Res Life
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 19
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 20
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Facilities
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 22
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 23
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Regroup
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 25
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 26
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Calendar
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - A Fair Division of Space
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 29
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 30
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 31
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 32
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 33
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 34
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 35
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Why They Stay
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 37
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 38
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 39
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 40
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 41
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 42
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 43
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Conversations
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 45
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 46
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - First Takes
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Reporting Out
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 49
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 50
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 51
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 52
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 53
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - New Members
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - 55
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Snapshot
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Cover3
Talking Stick - March/April 2013 - Cover4
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