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New bins, one-stop recycling would increase convenience
By Mellisa Blackburn
mblackb4@mscd.edu

Photo by Ryan Deuschle • rdeusch1@mscd.edu The existing bins on campus would be condensed into a single bin that would require no sorting if the proposal is approved.

The Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board and its clean-energy subcommittee are proposing a major change to Auraria’s recycling program.

While some say the proposed changes would take Auraria’s recycling program into the 21st century, others worry that its cost would outweigh the benefits.

It’s called single-stream recycling: a one-stop drop for all recyclables requiring no sorting by the consumer. It is the same program Denver Recycles uses.

“Single-stream recycling is becoming a lot more popular nationwide,” said Charlotte Pitt, a spokeswoman for Denver Recycles.

In 2005, Denver Recycles signed a 10-year contract with Waste Management, Inc. and purchased its own collection vehicles and bins. The new roll-aways hold up to 96 gallons of assorted paper, cardboard, glass and cans.

Waste Management, Inc. spent more than $4 million to retrofit its northeast Denver facility, making it the only single-stream recycling plant in Denver. The giant new machine uses a conveyor belt, giant magnets and other devices to mechanically separate paper from cardboard and metal from glass – so the customers don’t have to.

Proponents of single-stream recycling believe the increased convenience will encourage more people to recycle. SACAB’s goal is to move Auraria to this same system.

“Our recycling programs are inadequate at best,” said Shaun Lally, the UCD chair of SACAB and of the clean-energy subcommittee. “It’s a safe estimate (Auraria is) 20 years behind the times. And it’s time for a change.”

Currently, Auraria works with the Weyerhaeuser paper company to recycle paper, cardboard and some solid waste materials. Scrap metals are sent to Atlas Metal and Iron Corporation. The new recycling system will make recycling more efficient for the campus.

Tom Moody, head of the recycling program at Auraria, thinks single-stream recycling is a good idea, but is skeptical about the amount of extra work it will create. His concern is that the new program will require an increased amount of work for Auraria staff.

Lally, however, believes the changes are both essential and workable.

“They’re going to have to figure out a new strategy,” he said. “Recycling is necessary. It’s absolutely something that has to happen with a campus this big and the amount of recyclables we create. … As long as we have the support from the top, I believe that the program managers for recycling and waste removal will get innovative enough to figure out how to dump it.”

If the Auraria board approves the proposal, it will go to the student board on April 24 and 25. Then the boards of Metro, CCD and the University of Colorado will need to approve it by January 2008.