Recycling finds outdoor home in new containers

By Tina Nazerian     3/7/13 6:00pm

 

Be on the lookout for new outdoor recycling bins that have just been installed around campus.One bin was installed in front of Duncan Hall, and one was installed in front of the Rice Memorial Center, Student Association new student representative and Environmental Committee member Ryan Saathoff said. 

Both bins were installed on Feb. 5, Manager of Communications for Facilities Engineering and Planning Susann Glenn said. 

---

---

According to Director of the Administrative Center for Sustainability and Energy Management Richard Johnson, the project was led by Director of Custodial Services and the Grounds Department Eusebio Franco and Grounds Superintendent Ron Smith. 

"We've been wanting to do this for years," Johnson said. "From student environmental leaders to student project teams from [ENST 302: Environmental Issues: Rice into the Future] to the leaders of FE&P and beyond, many groups wanted to see recycling expanded to outdoor containers." 

The first challenge was providing different bins for each type of recyclable material, Johnson said. 

"We recently were able to switch to single-stream recycling, which means that recyclables like plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, paper and glass can all go into a single bin," Johnson said. "So that dramatically reduced the number of outdoor containers that we would need." 

According to Johnson, cost has posed and will continue to pose a large challenge to expanding the program to include more outdoor bins. 

"It's much cheaper to purchase recycling containers for indoor use than for outdoor use," Johnson said. "What we decided to do was to take a couple of outdoor trash containers that were underused and repurpose them as recycling bins, with appropriate markings of course. So we didn't have to spend a lot of money to give this a try." 

The outdoor recycling bins are a pilot project, and for long-term success, they will have to be used both appropriately and well, Johnson said. 

SA new student representative and Environmental Committee member Angela Masciale worked in a joint effort with Saathoff to help bring the recycling project to life. 

"I think Rice is becoming more environmentally friendly, and I'm constantly wondering, 'Oh, I can recycle this piece of plastic, but I'm outside, and I have to go into the commons and find a recycling bin,'" Masciale, a Hanszen College freshman, said. "I think having outdoor recycling bins ... [is] logical. If you have them indoors, why don't you have them outdoors?" 

Professor in the practice of humanities Logan Browning said he thinks the bins are another way Rice can be a good member of the Houston community. 

"Our mayor at this very moment is campaigning to get a large grant where we can have a very sophisticated system of recycling all over the city," Browning said. 

---