Transcript Do we ACTUALLY recycle?

Do we ACTUALLY recycle?
Jackie Baker & Steve Barr
Env 202
Our Waste… is not all waste
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According to the Environmental Protection Agency the United States creates 245 million tons of
trash each year.
This is equivalent to roughly 4.5 pounds per person per day
Although the EPA states recycling rates have increased over the past few decades, there is still
margin for improvement.
We fill our land with trash.
• The New York State Department of
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Environmental Conservation reports
that 10.9 solid tons of waste were
dumped in New York State alone
There are currently 26 active landfills
in our state
Most of the trash can be recycled or
composted
Landfills are decreasing in number, but
increasing in size per site
What has to be recycled?
• According to Monroe County Law the following
items MUST be recycled:
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Steel
Aluminum
Glass ( clear, green, and brown)
Plastic (numbers 1 and 2)
Paper (including food and beverage containers)
Newspaper
Large Appliances
Cardboard
What else can we recycle?
• Empty steel aerosol cans
• Brown Paper Bags
• Additional Paper Materials
Our Campus
• Often college campuses are indicators for the future.
• How much does our campus recycle?
• We looked at the most practical view of student activities dealing
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with recycling, in the dorms
How often are students recycling?
We figured that a majority of college students are recycling in the
dorms.
It is very known the impact of not recycling
We also wanted to see how advertised the recycling program in the
dorms is
Our Objective
• We intend to see how often our generation is
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recycling
We want to see how available the recycling
program is
We also then would like to find out the local
and national programs for recycling
We hope to find a projection of our future
recycling patterns through present day trends
How you ask..
• In our dorm building Tuesday is the designated
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day for recycling
At night, students are asked to place clean
recyclables out into the hallway
On Tuesday mornings, the custodial staff picks
up and sorts the recycling.
We will count how many bins are placed in the
hallway for pick-up over the past semester.
We will count how many signs are posted
informing the residents of the current program
Results in from study..
• The following slide will show how the
freshmen in Thompson Hall recycle.
• The data was collected from the RA’s and
covers the time frame from Week 1 in the
fall to the last week of the Fall semester.
• Note that week 2 and 13 data was not
collected.
Thompson Hall (Fall 2006)
Candice
Week 1
Tim
Angela
Derick
McKay
Pat
Jess
Shante
6
0
3
4
6
0
5
11
Week 3
9
0
7
6
7
7
5
9
Week 4
7
0
5
7
7
6
7
9
Week 5
6
0
3
9
6
5
7
10
Week 6
9
0
6
9
10
6
3
11
Week 7
10
2
7
8
10
0
5
12
Week 8
7
0
1
6
4
2
5
6
Week 9
10
1
4
8
6
6
4
7
Week 10
9
0
5
9
5
1
3
10
Week 11
10
3
8
6
5
3
6
7
Week 12
10
1
4
6
7
0
7
10
Week 14
8
0
5
5
3
8
5
6
Week 15
7
3
7
6
4
5
5
9
108
10
65
89
80
49
67
117
Week 2
Week 13
Totals
% recycled per week
57.5
Week 15
50
Week 13 0
56.25
60
Week 11
52.5
57.5
Week 9
38.75
67.5
67.5
Week 7
57.5
60
62.5
Week 5
Week 3
0
43.75
Week 1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
More information..
• There are 80 rooms in Thompson Hall
• Each is equipped with a recycling bin
• There are 14 signs around the building informing
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students of the program
We also found that the custodial staff is not fully
aware of what should/can be recycled
They were not aware of pizza boxes, therefore
there is obviously a hole in the recycling
program
What does it mean?
• The data shows that some people get the idea while others do not.
• It is shown by the data males have a tendency not to recycle as
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much as females.
Ideally, 80 bins would be put out at night, however it is evident
there is a lot of room for improvement
Our program has a flaw, and a huge product of college trash is pizza
boxes
Since these boxes are not being recycled, the program is somewhat
faulty.
There also might be a possibility that students are not aware of
what to recycle
We never received individual handouts about the program or what
to recycle in Monroe County
MSW Programs
• EPA’s has a nation standard to recycle
35% of MSW generated. The EPA wants
to “ensure the environmental soundness of
source reduction, recycling, combustion,
and land disposal.” By recycling 35% of
the waste would reduce the amount by 4.3
pounds per person per day.
• To find more information use this sites.
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http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/nonhw/muncpl/programs.htm
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/wastepgra
m.htm
New York Recycles!
• New York Recycles! is our way of promoting
recycling and buying recycled in New York State.
• New York Recycles! is part of a national event -
America Recycles 2006. The national theme, "It All
Comes Back To You!“
• There are many events held across the country.
• America Recycles 2006 is one of the most
comprehensive recycling awareness campaigns in the
nation.
• This program alerts people of the advantages and
disadvantages of recycling.
• The goal for New York Recycles! is to have at least one
recycling or buy recycled activity or event in every
county in the state.
Municipal Waste Reduction and
Recycling Program (MWR&R):
• Capital Projects (Since 1993) - DEC is authorized to provide State
assistance for projects that enhance municipal recycling infrastructure
through purchasing of equipment or construction of facilities. Some
communities used funding to construct materials recycling facilities and
others are constructing state-of-the-art composting facilities. Other
communities have been able to purchase recycling containers and new
recycling vehicles with their MWR&R funding.
• Recycling Coordinators (Since July 2000) - DEC is authorized to
provide State assistance for Recycling Coordinator salaries and public
education programs to municipalities to expand local recycling and waste
reduction programs and increase participation in those programs.
• Household Hazardous Waste State Assistance Program
(HHWSAP) (Since 1995) - The HHWSAP is an Environmental
Protection Fund (EPF) program administered by DEC. The HHWSAP
provides State assistance for HHW collection days, and construction of
permanent HHW collection facilities in order to provide a safe alternative
for recycling or disposal of household hazardous materials.
• New York Recycles!
– http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/red
recy/recylday.html
• Municipal Waste Reduction and
Recycling Program
– http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/red
recy/sap.html
To Conclude
• There is programs and ways to let people be
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aware of recycling.
It is also evident of flaws in our programs,
therefore room for the programs themselves to
improve
There is also an obvious carelessness with the
students, since they all do not participate in
group
National, State and Local efforts or visible to the
public to help the environment