Recycle Instead. This simple message is posted on the garbage cans located throughout Western’s campus. Two words, highly visible, and repeated over and over again. Students see this message every time they pass through Red Square. However, upon closer examination of contents of the garbage cans, it is obvious RECYCLE INSTEAD does not read as clearly as it appears.
According to a recent waste analysis of 57 garbage cans between the Viking Commons and Fairhaven Dorms, students at Western produce about 584 pounds of garbage per day.
Much of what students throw away in major traffic areas on campus such as the Viking Union, Red Square and Arntzen Hall is recyclable, but ends up in the trash. About 59 percent of the contents in 57 of Western’s most frequented garbage cans are recyclable materials. Thirteen percent is compostable food scraps, and only 28 percent of the contents inside these 57 cans is actually garbage.
Staff from The Planet conducted their own study by digging, sorting, and weighing contents from three garbage cans located on Western’s campus. Items pulled from the cans were separated into actual garbage, compostable materials and recyclables. The total weight of all three equaled 30.75 pounds. A total of 28 percent of the contents was actual garbage, 31 percent was compostable material, 16 percent recyclable paper, 15 percent plastic, 7 percent aluminum and 2 percent glass. All three garbage cans were less than 20 feet away from recycle bins.
Considering how close the nearest recycling bins are to the garbage cans sampled, it is disappointing to see so many recyclables thrown away. At a university where students spend extra money to purchase green power, they could do a much better job protecting the environment by putting just a little more effort into recycling.