Joyner Hall has been selected to lead a pilot project in providing complete recycling options for Meredith’s classroom buildings. The pilot program will start at the beginning of the spring 2011 semester.

 

New recycling bins have been placed alongside trashcans at the stairwell and building exits on both the first and second floors. The waste stations provide the full range of options for disposing paper, aluminum, plastic and garbage.

 

The project is designed to address the anecdotal and quantitative findings that trashcans in classrooms across campus are significantly filled with recyclables. The most recent campus waste audit (January 2010) found that almost 25 percent of campus trash should have been placed in the recycling stream [i.e., office paper, bottles, aluminum, and cardboard]. Research shows that effective trash and recycling behaviors are achieved when all available bins are placed together and every option is equally convenient (McKenzie-Mohr & Smith, 1999; Cole, 2007).

 

During the pilot project trashcans will be removed from individual classrooms; students can find a waste station visible from the entrance to each classroom. The College currently spends $2,445 per month on average removing garbage from campus; recycling removal is currently funded through proceeds from the sale of the materials at no cost to the College. Plastic trashcan liners cost the College $7,000 annually; if continued for one year, this pilot project would eliminate the use of at least 2,250 plastic liners.

 

The pilot was initiated by the campus Sustainability Committee and is led by Dean Garry Walton and Facilities Services Manager Harry Cadman.

 

McKenzie-Mohr, Doug, and William A. Smith. Fostering Sustainable Behavior: an Introduction to Community-based Social Marketing. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 1999. Print.

 

Cole, Elaine Janet. A community-based social marketing campaign to green the offices at Pacific University: Recycling, paper reduction and environmentally preferable purchasing. Antioch University, 2007, 214 pages; AAT 3286231.

 

In this Issue:

Update on Meredith’s Administrative Review Process
Classroom Recycling Pilot Project Begins in January
Meredith Fund Mythbusters
New Book Translation Explores Encouragement
Wade Looks Back on 25 Years at Meredith College

Faculty/Staff Accomplishments
Upcoming Events
News Briefs

 

Campus Connections Returns January 18.

Have you presented research or attended a professional meeting recently? Does your department have an event to publicize? Share these items and more with the Meredith community. Faculty and staff are invited to email submissions to Melyssa Allen, “Campus Connections” editor, at allenme@meredith.edu.

Please send any items for the first issue of the spring semester by Wednesday, Jan. 12.