In an effort to reduce waste and give materials another go-round, Mississippi State University is enhancing its recycling program. The recycling program does function, but it’s hard to tell from talking with students–most say they did not know about the program.
“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know one existed,” senior Sherman Riddle said.
“The only recycling I’ve seen are those paper bags at the library that say Oonce isn’t enough,'” student Jeff Bianchetta said.
Peter Rook serves as assistant director for general services. He said he hopes to increase student participation as well as awareness.
“We received funding from the administration to order some new recycling bins,” Rook said.
Proposed locations for the bins include Allen Hall, the Sanderson Center, Mitchell Memorial Library, the Colvard Union and Perry Cafeteria. Rook said the new bins should be in place for the spring semester.
In a statement released by Rook, MSU currently has over 700 recycling receptacles in 82 buildings.
Last year, MSU recycled approximately 200 pounds of aluminum cans, 80 tons of cardboard, five tons of fluorescent lights, 24.5 tons of newspapers, 360 tons of organic materials and 1,000 wood pallets.
Since 1995, MSU has generated an average of 3,891.8 tons of waste per year, about 16 percent of which has been recycled.
“Our percentage of waste recycled would be 69.6 percent if we were to capture 100 percent of the class of recyclables we offer to collect,” Rook said. “Looks like we have a lot of room for increased participation.”
However, the percentage has at least stabilized over the changing times.
“During the history of the recycling program, campus participation has remained fairly constant, even though the news media, student organizations and environmental groups have varied their emphasis and the message on recycling,” Rook said.
Once the recyclable materials are collected, they are taken to the community recycling plant on Rock Hill Road.
With increased accessibility to recycling bins and routine trips to the recycling plants, Rook said he hopes the percentage of recycled material will increase.
“Recycle all that you can and encourage others to participate,” Rook said.