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Do we ACTUALLY recycle?

Do we ACTUALLY recycle?. Jackie Baker & Steve Barr Env 202. Our Waste… is not all waste. 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

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Do we ACTUALLY recycle?

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  1. Do we ACTUALLY recycle? Jackie Baker & Steve Barr Env 202

  2. Our Waste… is not all waste • 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.

  3. We fill our land with trash. • The New York State Department of 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

  4. What has to be recycled? • According to Monroe County Law the following items MUST be recycled: • Steel • Aluminum • Glass ( clear, green, and brown) • Plastic (numbers 1 and 2) • Paper (including food and beverage containers) • Newspaper • Large Appliances • Cardboard

  5. What else can we recycle? • Empty steel aerosol cans • Brown Paper Bags • Additional Paper Materials

  6. 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 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

  7. Our Objective • We intend to see how often our generation is 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

  8. How you ask.. • In our dorm building Tuesday is the designated 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

  9. 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.

  10. Thompson Hall (Fall 2006)

  11. More information.. • There are 80 rooms in Thompson Hall • Each is equipped with a recycling bin • There are 14 signs around the building informing 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

  12. 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 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

  13. 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. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/programs.htm • http://www.epa.gov/epahome/wastepgram.htm

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. New York Recycles! • http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/redrecy/recylday.html • Municipal Waste Reduction and Recycling Program • http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/redrecy/sap.html

  18. To Conclude • There is programs and ways to let people be 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

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