Recycling In The Dorms: SUNY Brockport, McFarlane Hall

Victoria Foos Rozetta Smith

Recycling

    The reprocessing of materials into new products Prevents useful material resources being wasted Reduces the consumption of raw materials and reduces energy usage, and greenhouse gas emissions Three R’s 

Reduce

the amount and toxicity of trash  

Reuse

containers and products

Recycle

as much as possible

Reduce

 Waste prevention, or "source reduction,"  consuming and throwing away less  seeking products and packaging that are as free of toxics as possible   purchasing durable, long-lasting goods redesigning products to use less raw material in production, or be used again after its original use  Prevents the generation of waste in the first place  most preferred method of waste management  goes a long way toward protecting the environment

Reuse

  Repairing items Donating to charity and community groups  Selling items  also reduces waste Reusing products is better than recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again

Recycle

 Turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources  Generates a host of environmental, financial, and social benefits  Materials like glass, metal, plastics, and paper are collected, separated and sent to facilities that can process them into new materials or products (“Reduce…”)

Researching

 Questioned Maintenance about recycling in the dorms   Most years recycling is a major problem Residents uneducated on what to recycle  Males recycle less than females  Conducted survey

Survey

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Do you know what materials can be recycled in the dorms?

Do you use the recycling bin provided for you?

Did your Resident Assistant inform you about recycling at the beginning of the year Do you leave your bin out for collection every week Do you feel that the lack of recycling in the dorms is a problem Do you feel that recycling tends to be a hassle

Floors vs. floors

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 Floor 1 yes 13 7 13 4 4 3 no 3 9 3 12 12 13 Floor 2 yes 16 17 11 17 8 4 no 1 0 6 0 9 13 Floor 3 yes 20 18 14 12 6 4 no 3 5 9 11 17 19

Males vs. females

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 Males yes 23 16 22 9 8 6 no 5 12 6 19 20 22 Females yes 26 26 16 24 10 5 no 2 2 12 4 18 23

Hypothesis

If we get the residents in McFarlane involved in a contest, the amount of recycling will increase within the dorms

Objectives

      Determine how educated people are on recycling overall by survey Make residents start thinking about recycling/problems involved Get students active in recycling Get RA’s more involved depending on response from residents at conclusion of survey Win a pizza party because Victoria lives on the second floor of McFarlane Determine whether gender has anything to do with recycling trends

Methodology

  McFarlane Hall, SUNY College at Brockport, Brockport, NY Conducted Wednesday 25 April 2007 – Wednesday 2 May 2007  Materials    Flyers Fish hook scale Large garbage bags

Contest between all floors!!

Starting Wednesday April 25th, collect all of your plastic and glass bottles and your cartons and put them outside your door the night of Tuesday May 1st. The floor with the greatest weight of recyclables collected on Wednesday May 2nd, will win a free pizza party…So start COLLECTING!!!!!

Methodology Cont….

      Talk to maintenance 2 May 2007, Collect recyclables in plastic bags (separate by floors) Weigh bags Determine winners of contest Receive Funding Give pizza prize to winner

Before vs. After

Before After Floor 1 4 4 Floor 2 17 19 Floor 3 12 21

Weight of Recyclables

Floor 1 Floor 2 Floor 3

Limitations

 On Floor 2, 11 dorms did not answer and may have been unaware of the contest  We heard reports of the 3 rd recyclables from the 2 nd floor stealing floor  Students probably forgot and possibly should have been reminded

Conclusions

      Floors 3 is the Winner Success in objectives Our results related to the hypothesis, in that there was an increase in participation in recycling when a prize was involved More contests in the future = greater results in recycling Spread contest to other dorms and buildings Give contest to custodians

Literature Cited

 “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.” Municipal Solid Waste. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2006 .

RECYCLE