Mississippi State University recently concluded a nine-week recycling trial, which collected thousands of pounds of recyclable material.
Nisreen Cain, Green Starkville founder, a local green-living organization, said the trial was a pilot to find out the best way to have a campus-wide recycling program, measure the desire of having a recycling program on campus and evaluate the benefits of the recycling program.
“Three recycling businesses participated in the trial: BluBox Recycling, Starkville Recycling and Waste Management,” Cain said. “Each group was asked to provide what is necessary to run a successful recycling program from bins and pickups to education.”
Director of the MSU Environmental Collaborative Office Jeremiah Dumas said he and Don Buffum, director of procurement-contracts at MSU, designed the trial.
Dumas said the companies participated as a service to the university.
“The trial period was completely free,” Dumas said.
Dumas said the three companies were assigned nine buildings each around the MSU campus.
“We drew the names of the buildings out of a hat and then the companies had free range to do what they wanted to do,” Dumas said.
Blubox Recycling employee Robert Pack said the company decided to participate in the trial after they did game day recycling.
“We noticed there are a lot of students and faculty that want to give recycling a try,” Pack said.
Karen Stanley, also a Blubox employee, said the company was assigned such buildings as Ruby Hall, Montgomery Hall and the Colvard Student Union.
“Wherever there was a trash can we tried to put a recycling container there as well,” Stanley said.
Stanley said each building Blubox had was managed a little differently, depending on how the space in the building was used and who was likely to be in the particular building.
“We did a lot of education about recycling,” Stanley said. “We kept in touch with MSU staff about the effort through e-mail.”
According to Dumas, the nine-week trial collected a total of 75,000 pounds of recyclable materials.
“This trial was a great start to a broader program,” Dumas said. “The trial was designed in hopes of moving along a campus wide recycling program.”
Pack said Blubox Recycling implements programs, like the trial at MSU, at businesses all over the Golden Triangle.
“[MSU] has been the most receptive of any business we have had,” Pack said. “We had to pull a nine-yard dumpster from the Union everyday.”
Cain said this is a big step forward for the university on the path of sustainability.
“The trial was a great success not only in the quantities of recyclables collected through the trial, but also in the attitude and willingness of the students, faculty and staff who were a part of this program,” Cain said. “Every little bottle and piece of paper that was recycled added to the success of this trial.”