Email from Burton Callicott
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We are in the 5th week of the 10 weeks of Recyclemania, a nationwide recycling competition amongst colleges and universities.
++++Recycling on campus is a work in progress — there are problems – but there are people working on solutions. Visit the Sustainability Web Site http://www.cofc.edu/sustainable/ (and the Waste Stream Task Force in particular) to see who is involved.+++
Go to the Recycling Web Site to get involved http://www.cofc.edu/~recycling/
How can you participate?
1. Lead By Example
Do:
Recycle #1 & #2 plastic, aluminum cans, glass, soup cans, office paper, and newspaper
Place flattened cardboard next to recycling bins
Separate paper from other recyclables — recycling bins should be labeled
Rinse recyclables — dirty cans and bottles will be thrown away and can contaminate all of the recyclables in a bin.
Remove bottle caps — this plastic can not be recycled and lowers the value of a bale of crushed plastic.
Bring your own grocery bags when shopping.
Bring your own coffee mug or cup when getting beverages — many business, including all on-campus facilities, will provide a discount.
Call physical plant if you see bins that need to be picked up 953-5550.
Inform community members about recycling.
Go to the recycling web site FAQ page for more information http://www.cofc.edu/~recycling/faq.html
Don’t:
Place pizza boxes or cardboard that is greasy or dirty in with the recycling — this material must be trashed.
Put plastic bags in recycling bins — take to grocery stores that recycle them or re-use, they make great trash bags.
Put non-recyclables into the recycling bins — all of the contents of the bin may be trashed as a result.
Put paper coffee cups in the recycling bins — they can not be recycled.
Buy, accept, or recycle Styrofoam — it can not be recycled.
2. Get your students and co-workers involved
Make an announcement about Recyclemania to your classes and staff meetings www.recyclemaniacs.org
Remind your students and co-workers to put recyclables in the recycling bins — not in the class trash bins or lounge trash bins.
Take your class on a walk down the halls of the classroom building and pick all the recyclables out of the trash (and take trash out of the recycling bins).
Give extra credit to students that help out with recycling.
Make your students inventory everything they throw away for an entire day or week. Talk about it.
Adopt-a-Building, many clubs and orgs on campus have agreed to monitor recycling in buildings on campus (contact me if you are interested).
Have your class watch The Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Share some recycling facts with your students http://www.cofc.edu/~recycling/facts.html
Create a class project that looks at recycling/trash through the perspective of your subject.
o Example: art classes can use recyclables as a medium, Economics classes can discuss the impact on the market, history can look at the history of trash and re-use, etc. I will have various lesson plans available next week. Contact me if you are interested.
Go Cougars! “We can do it.”
Burton.
Burton Callicott
Librarian
