Web-Workspace

WHY RECYCLE?

'Q-This section seems really good to me, in terms of amount of information. I wonder, though, if it is too much, and we should be more selective on what we share? Or perhaps have a main site and alternative links to find out more, as int he different kinds of recycling? Also, parts of the section need to be formatted as it will appear on the web page S.H.'

The little why: to save resources, to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, and to conserve energy used to refine raw materials. Another reason is that recycling benefits Earlham and the city of Richmond financially. Earlham is charged for the trash it sends to the landfill, so not having as much trash to haul saves the college money. Also, Earlham is monetarily compensated for its bales of recycled corrugated cardboard; and, the city is compensated for recycled bales of plastic and for loads of glass, aluminum and other metals that are recycled by the Richmond Sanitary Department.

The BIG why - to love life enough to save it. The following quotes are taken from Kellert, Stephen; Wilson, Edward O. (The Biophilia Hypothesis, Island Press/Shearwater, Washington D.C.: 1993)

   We need to transform the way we use the earth's endowment of land,
   minerals, water, air, wildlife, and fuels:  an efficiency revolution which 
   buys us some time.  Beyond efficiency, we need another revolution that 
   transforms our ideas of what it means to live decently and how little is 
   actually necessary for a decent life:  a sufficiency revolution...  

(optional continuation)

   The first revolution is mostly about technology and economics.  The second 
   revoloution is about morality and human purpose.  The biophilia revolution 
   is about the combination of reverence for life and purely rational 
   calculation by which we will want to be both efficient and live 
   sufficiently.  It is about finding our rightful place on earth and in the 
   community of life; it is about citizenship, duties, obligations, and   
   celebration... 

Q-I like the first two paragraphs from Wilson, but the third one doesn't seem as directly relevant to me (and the quotation goes on a bit long). S.H.

   ...Patriotism, the name we give to the love of one's country, must be 
   redefined to include those things which contribute to the real health, 
   beauty, and ecological stability of our home places and to exclude those  
   which do not.  Patriotism as biophilia requires that we decide to rejoin 
   the idea of love of one's country to how well one uses the country.  To 
   destroy forests, soils, natural beauty, and wildlife in order to swell the
   gross national product, or to provide short'term and often spurious jobs, 
   is not partiotism but greed.  Real patriotism demands that we weave the 
   competent, patient, and disciplined love of our land into our political 
   life and our political institutions.  The laws of ecology and those of 
   thermodynamics, which mostly have to do with limits, must become the 
   foundation for a new politics... 

The type of informational facts we need to present is already available at the following website:

[1]

We might want to personalize our own website to contain the same types of information, only for Indiana. A couple of facts presented in the Richmond Sanitary District Recycling Program flyer:

   Every day, an average American produces and throws away about 4 or 5 pounds
   of waste.  In a city like Richmond, this means over 200,000 pounds (100
   tons) of waste must be disposed of every day.  Richmond's waste is 
   currently being buried in the New Paris Pike Landfill, but this landfill 
   will not last forever.  To locate and construct a new landfill will take 
   considerable time and money, so why not make the one we have last longer? 
   We can and will, with the help of recycling!

Some Indiana trends and statistics can be found at the following website:

[[2]]

In 2001, the United States generated more than 11 million tons of plastics in the MSW stream as containers and packaging, over 6 million tons as nondurable goods, and more than 8 million tons as durable goods.

The total amount of plastics in MSW—25.4 million tons—represented 11.1 percent of total MSW generation in 2001.

The amount of plastics generation in MSW has increased from less than 1 percent in 1960 to 11.1 percent in 2001.

Plastics are a rapidly growing segment of the MSW stream. The largest category of plastics are found in containers and packaging (e.g., soft drink bottles, lids, shampoo bottles), but they also are found in durable (e.g., appliances, furniture) and nondurable goods (e.g., diapers, trash bags, cups and utensils, medical devices).

Plastics also are found in automobiles, but recycling of these materials is counted separately from the MSW recycling rate.

While overall recovery of plastics for recycling is relatively small—1.4 million tons, or 5.6 percent of plastics generation in 1999—recovery of some plastic containers has reached higher levels. PET soft drink bottles were recovered at a rate of 40 percent in 1999. Recovery of HDPE milk and water bottles was estimated at about 32 percent in 1999. Significant recovery of plastics from lead-acid battery casings and from some other containers also was reported in 1999.

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In 2001, the United States generated nearly 2 million tons of aluminum as containers and packaging, and manufacturers used approximately 1.2 million tons of aluminum to make durable and nondurable goods.

The total amount of aluminum in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream—3.2 million tons—represented 1.4 percent of total MSW generation in 2001. In 1960, aluminum in MSW was only 0.4 percent of MSW generation (340,000 tons).

The largest source of aluminum in the MSW stream is aluminum used beverage containers (UBCs) and other packaging containers.

Other sources of aluminum are found in durable and nondurable goods, such as appliances and automobile parts.

Manufacturers make 99 percent of all beer cans and 97 percent of all soft drink cans from aluminum. Aluminum beer and soft drink containers were recovered at a rate of 49 percent of generation (more than 0.7 million tons) in 2001, and 40 percent of all aluminum in containers and packaging was recovered for recycling in 2001.

In 2001, Americans discarded about 2.4 million tons of aluminum in MSW after recovery—1.5 percent of total MSW discards.

Automobiles also contain aluminum, but this aluminum is generally not calculated in measures of MSW generation, recycling, or disposal. Benefits of Aluminum Recycling The average aluminum can contains 40 percent postconsumer recycled aluminum. Recovering aluminum for recycling saves money and dramatically reduces energy consumption. The aluminum can recycling process saves 95 percent of the energy needed to produce aluminum from bauxite ore, as well as natural resources, according to the Aluminum Association. Making a ton of aluminum cans from virgin ore, or bauxite, uses 229 BTUs of energy. In contrast, producing cans from recycled aluminum uses only 8 BTUs of energy per can.

An aluminum can that is recovered for recycling is back in the consumer stream in a short period of time. It takes about 6 weeks total to manufacture, fill, sell, recycle, and then remanufacture a beverage can. Most of the aluminum recovered from the waste stream is used to manufacture new cans, "closing the loop" for can production.

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Americans generated 10.9 million tons of glass in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream in 2001.

About 22 percent of the 10.9 million tons of glass was recovered for recycling.

Recovery increased from 750,000 tons in 1980 to more than 2.4 million tons in 2001.

Soft drink, beer, food, wine, and liquor containers represent the largest source of glass generated and recovered for recycling.

Glass in durable goods, such as furniture, appliances, and especially consumer electronics, round out the sources of postconsumer glass

Today, most glass manufacturers rely on a steady supply of recycled crushed glass, known as "cullet," to supplement raw materials. To make glass, manufacturers mix sand, soda ash, limestone, and cullet; heat the mixture to a temperature of 2,600 to 2,800 degrees F; and mold it into the desired shape. Sand is the only material used in greater volumes than cullet to manufacture glass.

Using cullet saves money and helps the environment, because:

Cullet costs less than raw materials.

Cullet prolongs furnace life since it melts at a lower temperature.

Cullet demands less energy from power sources like electricity, natural gas, and coal.

Less energy used means reduced emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide, both greenhouse gases.

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Paper and Paperboard Products Paper and paperboard products include items you use every day—newspapers, food packaging, tissues, cardboard boxes, office paper, and paper plates. In fact, paper and paperboard products constitute the largest portion of municipal solid waste (MSW). As the greatest portion of the waste stream, paper also offers the greatest opportunity for recycling. Today, consumers buy recycled paper in newspapers, food packages, and office paper—some containing as much as 100 percent recycled fiber. Other uses of recovered paper include insulation, gypsum wallboard, fertilizer bags, and mulch.

Just the Facts At about 36 percent, paper and paperboard products constitute the largest portion of the MSW stream.

Americans generated nearly 82 million tons of paper products in the MSW stream in 2001, nearly a three-fold increase from 1960.

About 45 percent of all paper and paperboard products in MSW were recovered in 2001, nearly two-and-a-half times the percentage recovered in 1960.

Recycling rates (2001):

Corrugated Boxes: 70 percent Newspapers: 60 percent

Office Paper: 55 percent

Magazines: 32 percent

Telephone Directories: 15 percent

Q-what are these rates for, Indiana or the country at large?

Paper Making and Recycling To make paper, a paper mill loads debarked and chipped wood into a large tank called a digester. The digester pressure cooks the chipped wood with water and a mixture of chemicals. The chips then stew in a chemical mix under pressure. The resulting pulp is washed, refined, and cleaned. In a separate process, the mill mixes shredded recycled paper with water, then cooks and cleans the mixture to create pulp. The paper mill blends in a certain percentage of pulp from recycled paper, depending on the desired characteristics of the finished product.

Paper reprocessors are very selective about the materials they use to make recycled-content products. High-grade papers like white office paper have long fibers, while low-grade papers like mixed paper have shorter fibers. Processors cannot mix low-grade papers with high-grade papers if they want to manufacture high-grade recycled-content white office paper. In the field of paper and paperboard recycling, the most preferable form of recycling is "first-tier" recycling, such as using recovered newspapers to make new newsprint. Therefore, paper mills commonly seek single-grade recycled paper. Corrugated cardboard, newspapers, and office papers are the most common single-grade waste streams (i.e., no other paper is mixed in, making it easier to "close the loop").

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When you need a portable, convenient power source, you can rely on batteries. Batteries of all shapes and sizes supply power to everyday electronics like toys and power tools, but batteries also work where we don't see them too. During a power outage, phone lines still operate because they are equipped with lead-acid batteries. Batteries help control power fluctuations, run commuter trains, and provide back-up power for critical needs like hospitals and military operations. The versatility of batteries is reflected in the different sizes and shapes, but all batteries have two common elements that combine to make power: an electrolyte and a heavy metal.

Just the Facts Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools.

Inside a battery, heavy metals react with chemical electrolyte to produce the battery's power.

Wet-cell batteries, which contain a liquid electrolyte, commonly power automobiles, boats, or motorcycles.

Nearly 99 million wet-cell lead-acid car batteries are manufactured each year.

Mercury was phased out of certain types of batteries in conjunction with the "Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act," passed in 1996.

Recycling batteries keeps heavy metals out of landfills and the air. Recycling saves resources because recovered plastic and metals can be used to make new batteries. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process.

One way to reduce the number of batteries in the waste stream is to purchase rechargeable batteries. Nearly one in five dry-cell batteries purchased in the United States is rechargeable. Over its useful life, each rechargeable battery may substitute for hundreds of single-use batteries.

Battery Recycling Lead-Acid Automobile Batteries Nearly 90 percent of all lead-acid batteries are recycled. Almost any retailer that sells lead-acid batteries collects used batteries for recycling, as required by most state laws. Reclaimers crush batteries into nickel-sized pieces and separate the plastic components. They send the plastic to a reprocessor for manufacture into new plastic products and deliver purified lead to battery manufacturers and other industries. A typical lead-acid battery contains 60 to 80 percent recycled lead and plastic.

Non-Automotive Lead-Based Batteries Gel cells and sealed lead-acid batteries are commonly used to power industrial equipment, emergency lighting, and alarm systems. The same recycling process applies as with automotive batteries. An automotive store or a local waste agency may accept the batteries for recycling.

Dry-Cell Batteries Dry-cell batteries include alkaline and carbon zinc (9-volt, D, C, AA, AAA), mercuric-oxide (button, some cylindrical and rectangular), silver-oxide and zinc-air (button), and lithium (9-volt, C, AA, coin, button). On average, each person in the United States discards eight dry-cell batteries per year.

Alkaline and Zinc-Carbon Batteries Alkaline batteries, the everyday household batteries used in flashlights, remote controls, and other appliances, do not contain mercury if they were made after 1992. Several reclamation companies now process these batteries.

Button-Cell Batteries Most small, round "button-cell" type batteries found in items such as watches and hearing aids contain mercury, silver, cadmium, lithium, or other heavy metals as their main component. Button cells are increasingly targeted for recycling because of the value of recoverable materials, their small size, and their easy handling relative to other battery types.

Rechargeable Batteries The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) , a nonprofit public service organization, targets four kinds of rechargeable batteries for recycling: nickel-cadmium (Ni-CD), nickel metal hydride, lithium ion, and small-sealed lead. Its "Charge Up and Recycle!" program offers various recycling plans for communities, retailers, businesses, and public agencies.

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Steel Steel is a versatile commodity that plays a major part in everyday life—it is used in applications ranging from food cans and household containers to automobiles and office buildings. Steel makes up the largest category of metals in the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream. For many years, steel has been a commonly recycled material in North America and throughout the world. Efficiently managing and recycling used steel products is important to maximize the utility of this commodity.

Just the Facts More than 1,000 facilities in the United States make and process steel, and most are located in the Great Lakes region and the South.

In 2001, the United States generated nearly 3 million tons of steel as containers and packaging in the MSW stream, as well as 10.9 million tons of ferrous metals, which include iron and steel, as durable goods.

The total amount of ferrous material generated in 2001—13.5 million tons—represented 5.9 percent of total MSW generation in 2001.

The amount of ferrous metals (iron and steel) generation in MSW has declined from 11.7 percent in 1960 to 5.9 percent in 2001.

Other sources of steel in the MSW stream are containers and packaging, such as food packaging and aerosol cans.

Large quantities of steel and other ferrous metals are found in construction materials and transportation products, such as automobiles, locomotives, and ships, but these are not included in calculations of MSW. These non-MSW products are, however, highly recycled. In 2000, the steel industry recovered and recycled more than 14 million tons of shredded steel scrap from automobiles—a recycling rate of 95 percent, according to the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI). How Steel is Made Steel is an alloy of iron, produced by heating coke, iron ore, and limestone in a blast furnace. It is produced in one of two ways: the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) process and the electric arc furnace (EAF) process.

The BOF process uses 25 to 35 percent recovered steel to make new steel. It combines molten iron from blast furnaces with an injection of very pure oxygen, which causes a chemical reaction. Products such as automotive fenders, refrigerator encasements, soup cans, pails, and industrial drums are made with this type of steel. BOF steel is ideal for these applications because of its "drawability," or ability to be flattened into sheets.

The EAF process uses virtually 100 percent recovered steel to make new steel. Scrap steel is melted and refined by passing an electric current from electrodes through the material. Products such as structural beams, steel plates, and reinforcement bars are made with this type of steel because it is so strong.

How Steel is Recycled Steel cans from MSW and other steel recyclables are usually collected from the curbside, drop-off sites, or multi-material buyback centers. The steel is then hauled to a material recovery facility, where workers separate it from other recyclables and crush it in to large bales. The bales are shipped to steel mills or foundries, where they are combined with other steel scrap and melted in a furnace to make new steel.

Benefits of Steel Recycling The steel industry in North America has been recycling steel scrap for more than 150 years. The steel industry needs scrap to produce new steel, which ensures that all steel products contain anywhere from 25 percent up to 100 percent recycled content. It also is cheaper to recycle steel than it is to mine virgin ore to manufacture new steel. New ore is still mined in order to supplement production of steel and steel products.

Recovering steel not only saves money, but also dramatically reduces energy consumption, compared to making steel from virgin materials. In turn, this reduces the amount of greenhouse gases released in to the air during processing and manufacturing steel from virgin ore.

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Some statistics on Ohio paper,cardboard, paper board recycling:

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Every ton of recycled paper: 

— Conserves the equivalent of 17 trees worth of lumber — Saves 7,000 gallons of water — Cuts pollution 95 percent — Saves 11 barrels – 462 gallons – of oil — Saves more than three cubic yards of landfill space.

• From residential and commercial recycling alone in the United States in 1999, paper recycling conserved nearly 624 million trees, 256.9 billion gallons of water, almost 17 billion gallons of oil, 110 million cubic yards of landfill space and prevented 2.2 billion pounds of air pollution. • Recycled paper cannot completely replace paper made from new wood pulp, but reducing the consumption of trees has other environmental benefits. Replanting trees does not restore the biological diversity lost when a forest is cut down. Logging can accelerate soil erosion and trees help reduce the overabundance of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere by absorbing carbon. • The paper recycling consulting firm Moore & Associates estimates that an extra 350,000 tons of recycled paper could be available each year if the 20 least efficient metropolitan recycling programs in the United States came up to the current industry average.

Paper products are the single biggest component of the municipal solid waste stream, making up 38.1 percent of the material landfilled in the United States. Effective paper recycling efforts can help conserve landfill space and natural resources and preserve biological diversity by reducing the call to harvest timber from wild areas.

Paper, cardboard and paperboard are widely recycled. Nearly 42 percent of the 87.9 million tons of paper discarded in 1999 was recovered for recycling. Only nonferrous metals other than aluminum, at 66.9 percent, and yard waste (45.3 percent) have higher recovery rates.

Recovery of corrugated cardboard leads paper’s overall recycling rate. It is so profitable to recycle that 73 percent of corrugated cardboard discards are recovered each year in the United States. Old newspapers are also widely recycled. Almost 69 percent of all newspapers discarded in 1998 was recovered. The newspaper recycling rate has climbed since newspaper publishers and newsprint makers made using recycled fibers in newsprint production a priority in 1988.

The quality of paper fibers degrades with repeated recycling, so there is a separate market for recycled white office paper. White office paper is higher quality paper such as copy and writing paper, green-bar and multi-stripe computer printout and white envelopes without plastic windows or labels. It is best for incorporating into new white office paper products, but recycling is somewhat suppressed. According to the Recycled Paper Coalition, less than 20 percent of office wastepaper generated in the United States is recovered.

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Markets for recycled paper New technology and improved markets have made paper recycling much easier over the years. No longer must you remove staples and other metal fasteners that a good magnet can pick up. You no longer have to pull glossy ads and magazines from the recycling stream.

Rittman Paperboard in northeastern Ohio, a subsidiary of the world’s largest maker of recycled paperboard and packaging products, has developed recycling technology that allows them to accept food-waste contaminated paper, such as old pizza boxes.

Mixed paper and paperboard is recycled into new packaging products, as well as paper towel and tissues, construction paper, cellulose insulation and bedding for farm animals. Canada is a notable importer of recycled U.S. paper, and there are other, cyclical export markets. A failure of the cotton crop in China in the mid-1990s, for instance, contributed to an enormous demand for recycled paper and PET, which can be used to make polyester. Asia and Europe provide growing and ongoing export markets as well.

Old newspapers and other recycled newsprint often ends up in the mixed paper bin, but there is a strong market in Ohio for newsprint by itself. Helped by several paper mills around the state, Ohio newspapers contain, on average, more than 40 percent recycled paper. The national average is just over 28 percent.

RECYCLING INFORMATION ON CAMPUS (WHAT TO RECYCLE)

WHAT TO RECYCLE

The following items can be recycled at Earlham: 1. Plastics #1 and #2 (look at bottom of container and the number inside the triangle to determine a #1 or #2) 2. Aluminum Cans 3. Glass 4. Office paper 5. Newspaper 6. Corrugated Cardboard 7. Lead/acid Batteries 8. scrap metal 9. old electronics/computers 10. Old Cell phones and ink cartridges

The following items can be recycled outside Earlham: 1. Plastics #3-#7? see below ... 2. Plastic shopping bags? collected in containers at Wal-mart ... see also below 3. Thin cardboard? recycling facilities in Oxford, Ohio accept thin cardboard mingled with all forms of paper ... see also below

The closest paperboard (non-corrugated cardboard) recycling facility is East Central Recycling, 701, East Centennial, Muncie, In (765) 282-1900 Jason King of East Central Recycling roughly estimated a Richmond pick-up charge of $120/bale. They would pay $20/ton for baled paperboard and would be willing to supply a box compactor that creates bales with minimal baling labor and no baling wire. Buck is the Sales Rep.

East Central Recycling also buys baled corrugated cardboard, but Earlham is committed to recycling this material as well as office paper, newspaper, and plastics 1 & 2 through Richmond Sanitary Recycling.

A local facility that accepts bales of clean plastics, sorted by numbers 1 through 7, is My Way Trading, located at 308 NW "F" Street, Richmond, In. They've been in business here in Richmond for about 4 years and have been doing this for about 17 years total in other locations such as New Paris,Ohio.

Bo Mattix of My Way Trading says we could bale our #3 - #7 plastics, as long as they're clean, by placing a layer of cardboard at the bottom of the type of container we presently collect cardboard in, and another layer of cardboard at the top of a plastics load, then smash it with the cardboard baler, strap it, wrap it with shrink wrap, and place it on a skid. They would also take bales composed entirely of plastic shopping bags. The following quoted procedure was supplied by Bo:

   On the plastic scrap it can be of mixed materials in bales from a baler,
   as we spoke of earlier on pallets. Containers would need to be rinsed out.
   What you can not have is any containers that had any chemicals in them( no
   cross bones) or anything over a #1 Hazmat. No trash, like paper cups or
   fast food products. Now we do work with Recycling Center and get plastic
   scrap from them, so keep the program with them and we can call them to let
   them know its ok to do and to add it to a load we get from them. They are
   more capable of handling and storing this. Just let me know if this is
   something you want to do and we'll let them know. If any questions feel
   free to call. Thanks,
   Bo Mattix  mywaytrading@myvine.com

Again, Earlham is committed to recycling plastics 1 & 2 through Richmond Sanitary Recycling.

HOW TO RECYCLE

(note: upon receiving the grant we will want to include descriptions of the recycling bins-color, shape, size, etc. familiarize the information below)

Office paper, newspaper, corrugated cardboard can be put directly in the appropriate bin and does not need to be shredded or otherwise cut. Corrugated cardboard should, however, be flattened if it is still intact in box-form. Glass bottles, aluminum cans and plastics #1 and #2 should be washed out if they are very dirty but otherwise can be placed directly in the appropriate bin as is.

There are a number of locations on campus to recycle the items listed in the previous section: 1. Residence Halls(dorms) On every floor of every residence hall you should find bins for: 1) office paper 2) co-mingled items (plastic #1 and #2, aluminum cans and glass bottles) On one floor of each residence hall (almost always on the first floor) there should be a bin for newspaper. Students only have the responsibility of placing the proper items in the appropriate bins. Work-study students in charge of Recycling will come to empty bins on the hall each week. Contact if your halls’ bin needs emptying. 2. College Houses In every college house there should be a big blue bin with a circle cut-out in the lid for both co-mingled items (see above) and office paper. College Houses should be recycling by bringing their bin out to the street for regular city pick-up as arranged by their AD. Contact: 3. Academic/Administrative Buildings On each floor of academic/administrative buildings you should find the following recycling bins: 1) Tall, Blue, closed-top, co-mingled bin (for plastics #1 and #2, aluminum cans and glass bottles) 2) Small, open-top red bin: office paper The current placement of these is sporadic. At the very least, most department offices have a red bin located near the copy machine. Blue co-mingled bins tend to be located in the hall for greater access to students and professors/administrators/staff. 4. Runyan Center (student center) Runyan Center has the following bins for recycling: 1) Tall Blue bin for Newspaper only 2) Tall Blue bin for Magazines only 3) Tall Blue bin for office paper 4) Tall Blue bin for Co-mingled items (for plastics #1 and #2, aluminum cans and glass bottles) 5. Outdoors Currently there are no outdoor receptacles for recycling. 6. At Certain Events 7. Maintenance The following items can be brought to Maintenance (located across from the side entrance to Hoerner and behind the Wellness center): 1) scrap metal-location? 2) corrugated cardboard- a dumpster is located between the back of maintenance and the big yellow equipment shed. 3) old electronics/computers-location? 4) lead/acid batteries-location? 5) ink cartridges/cell phone batteries-location?

WHERE TO RECYCLE

Newspaper bins are in the lobbies of all dormitory buildings Look for blue recycling bins (for glass, plastics 1 & 2 ONLY, office paper, aluminum cans, steel cans) on each floor of Earlham dormitories and in academic buildings

DROP-OFF RECYCLING INFORMATION IN THE RICHMOND AREA

[4]

This is a great resource from the Wayne County soil and water conservation district. In it they include a complete page of drop-off recycling facilities and information about curbside recycling in Richmond/Wayne County.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT RECYCLING

1. What happens when trash is put in recycling bins (or some other way to address contamination)? 2. Can I recycle all types of cardboard at Earlham? 3. Maybe the same sort of question about plastics??

COMPOSTING AT EARLHAM

WHO SHOULD I CONTACT IF MY COMPOST IS NOT BEING PICKED UP? Contact: Dan Horowitz (horowda@earlham.edu)

WHERE CAN I COMPOST: 1. In the dining hall: Next to the trash bins where trays are also brought, there is a separate can for compostable items. 2. All college houses have one five gallon compost bucket. 3. Clear Creek Food Co-op: Inside the co-op there is a bucket for waste generated from daily lunches, as well as a large trash can outside of the co-op, on the Barrett side.

WHAT CAN I COMPOST: 1. All food except meat and dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)

WHERE DOES THE COMPOST GO and HOW DOES IT GET THERE? All compost generated at Earlham goes out to Miller Farm. Mill Farm is a college-owned, student-run farm located on Abington pike. For more info go to http://www.millerfarm.org Two to three student workers are hired each semester on a work-study basis to transport the compost out to the farm. Bikes are used to carry the compost out on a regular basis depending on pick-up location. The compost is then used on gardens maintained by the residents of miller farm throughout the growing season.

WHY DOES EARLHAM COMPOST?

We compost to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and to benefit the student-run agriculture program based at Miller Farm. Food waste that goes out to Miller Farm would otherwise go with the rest of trash to the Richmond landfill. By composting, over time, we significantly reduce the amount of waste we produce.

HOW IS THE COMPOST USED AT MILLER FARM?

Compost is brought from the dining hall and put in a pile where it begins to decompose. Successive loads of compost result in a mass of ‘organic matter’ which generates heat via the decomposition process. Soil microbes consume the nutrients available in leftover food and help to produce the high temperatures found in compost piles. The bacteria gradually eats up the waste and turns compost into a soil-like substance. Residents of Miller Farm use this soil-like substance after spring tillage to add organic matter to the soil, preparing it for plat growth. The compost is applied when necessary during the growing season to strengthen soil balance and prevent pest and disease spread. It is sometimes used again after fall harvest and before a winter cover crop is sown to build soil quality over the winter. For more information on compost go to: insert here.

CONTACTS

Director of Facilities: Head of Housekeeping: ERC convenor and committee members (ERC listserve): EEAC, EEP, Miller Farm: Q-could we list names and contact information here, and spell out title (or describe) to make it clear who these people are? S.H.

MAINTENANCE BUILDING HOURS 8:00am -4:00pm M-F

CURRENT RECYCLING POLICIES

File:Recycling policies.pdf