Every sensible citizen feels an urge to develop a zero-waste society where we recycle and repurpose everything. Mostly the young and enthusiastic students of college and university feel the need for effective recycling on campus programs that will make this sustainable dream come true. If we think about it, there is a lot of waste produced on campus that can be repurposed for better results with a campus recycling program.
Why do we need to recycle?
The need for recycling comes from the production of huge amounts of waste in our daily life. We humans are so inclined to produce tons of waste that we don’t even see the possibility of making the best of it. There are too many problems associated with waste products including the space required for its deposit and environmental pollution. If we start noticing the amount of plastic we are producing in our daily life, we will be amased but if there are better ways to deal with it, why not adopt it?
What is the better way, you may ask? Recycling is the right solution for repurposing waste. And as a small step, we are suggesting campus recycling programs play their part in saving the planet.
What kind of waste is your university making and how can recycling help?
You must be aware of the garbage accumulated in your trash cans. Most of it is plastic coming from the packaging of different food items, study materials and stationery. Apart from that, a huge amount of food is also wasted which can produce a lot of methane if decomposed properly. There is another major portion of campus waste comprising electronics and old IT equipment that is not working anymore.
Instead of fixing the machines, most of them are thrown away and become a source of harmful toxins in our landfills. Such toxins seep into the land and eventually become part of the water bodies causing harm to marine life. It also toxifies the air and thus becomes a source of land, water and air pollution.
Tips for your recycling on campus program
To get started with your recycling on campus program, you will have to follow the following steps to do better for the environment.
Quantify your campus waste
You will have to analyse what kind of waste is being produced on your campus the most. This step is important so that you can design the program to an extent that suits waste production. From food waste to old electronics disposed of, you will have to keep track of everything and check records to get a clear idea. You will have to conduct the preliminary waste audit to identify and categorise the waste produced and determine the type and quantity of each segment.
Analyse your waste management practices
After you know how much waste is being produced at your campus, you have to see the present condition of how the waste is managed currently. How is it sorted, where is it dumped and how it is dealt with? You will have to gather data and understand how things work so that you can bring the right change. You will have to ask some questions:
- Who is responsible for waste management on campus?
- Is there a recycling on campus policy?
- Who collects the waste and what is the procedure?
- Are there any governmental regulations on the type of waste to be recycled on campus?
After you have collected this data, you are good to start your own recycling on campus program and the following steps will explain how you can do that.
Ensure standard labelled bins
Make sure that there are standard labelled bills on the campus where the students and faculty can put the respective waste accordingly. Make sure that the labelling is not confusing and predetermine a certain colour for each type of waste according to international standards and put a sign as well as a written name of the type of waste that goes in.
You will have to check if there are any recycling bins on the campus, where they are placed and how they are labelled. The next step would be to develop a proposal for your campus waste coordinator on how to improve this setting for more effective recycling on campus.
Build a team for the green cause of recycling on campus
You will have to select some volunteers that can be your Green Team and help you bring your campus recycling program to life. Just determine how many hours of each member will you require and train them so that your team will be your right hand. Give them the right tools, verification and a clear mission to make recycling on campus a success.
Spread awareness of new recycling ideas
This will be a team of employees and students who aim at empowering the students and faculty and facilitating them to recycle. You can launch campaigns for awareness of your waste management and campus recycling program. Now that you have a team, you will have to arrange campaigns for recycling programs and get help from some influencers to build momentum.
Make recycling popular on campus
For this you can run fun competitions among different departments, dormitories, buildings and faculties and keep a reward at the end so that everyone takes part. Teach recycling ideas via different programs and recycling events. Encourage up-cycling and you can even start an upcycling workshop. Set a recycling challenge for each student as well where they can redeem some points for each plastic bottle they recycle. Arrange fashion shows for upcycled clothes and let them bring more creative ideas to the show.
Track the most toxic IT waste
Among all other types of waste, the most toxic is electronic waste for the simple reason that electronics are made up of many types of chemicals and metals that toxify the environment when thrown away without due care. You will have to take special care of such waste and instead of using bins, you can ask the students to leave such waste in a common place and get IT recycling services for them. Don’t forget to keep the data safe through data destruction services as well.
Set sustainable recycling on campus goals
You will have to keep your goals realistic but the aim must be sustainability. Determine a target for recycling on campus because without a target, you will not be able to legitimise why all this effort and money should be put into your campus recycling program.
Recycle electronic and general waste
You will have to separately get recycling services for your general waste such as plastics and electronic waste. They cannot be mixed because both have different recycling methods. Make sure to reevaluate your waste disposal habits and ensure everyone on the campus is doing the same.
Final Word
You will have to determine how the recycling on-campus program contributes to the ecosystem and preach this message to others as well. This way you will be able to get more people on board with you and make a difference for a better and greener environment. The main goal is clean and green earth and that goal must not be compromised so design your recycling on campus program around that. Recycle every type of waste and get proper waste disposal services for your IT waste. Make the earth a better place to live for yourself and your coming generations.
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