Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Conservation Project

My conservation project worked with the university to increase the level of recycling. I originally planned on working directly with the waste management company however that fell through. So i focused my attention on the recycling in the residence halls and in the dining halls. I have noticed that not many people use the recycling bins in their rooms and the dining halls and I felt that this should change. I began by talking with the housing director and the management with dining services. From there I talked with people in the dorms about recycling and found that virtually everyone thought it was beneficial however there were 27% of people that said that they did not recycle in their dorm rooms. I found this to be very surprising so I worked to try and get people in the dorms to begin recycling. When I talked with the dining services I noted that there are bins for recycling, however they are often not used for recycling and are very easy to mistake for the regular garbage cans. I proposed to them that they find a new type of recycling bin to make it clear to students that they are trying to help the environment and that they should place their recyclables in the new containers. All in all, I hope to still work with the residence halls and with dining services so that my project is able to come full circle and so that I am able to wrap up the loose ends that are still out there. I had a lot of fun with my project and hope that what I have done will last for a long time.

4 comments:

Jenny S said...

I can't beleive that there 27% of students on campus dont recycle in their dorm rooms! I hope you made a hugeimpact and got that number to change.

Anonymous said...

I also did my project on recycling. It sounds like you did a really good job though of connecting with people on campus and figuring out positive ways to make recycling a more common act on campus.

Phil G. said...

I had a similar project. I noticed also how few students used there recycling bins. The biggest thing seems to be most people don't even know they are supposed to be recycling, or at least never really thought about it. Talking to people and creating awareness for proper recycling is definitely the critical first step.

Jessica B said...

My Roomate And I Recycle, But Most Of The Students Around Us Don't! I Find It Shocking As To How Many People Don't. It Doesn't Take Much More Of An Effort! LoL :) I Thought It Was Good Of You To Talk To The Management Of The Dining Halls And Of Housing. Hopefully They Will Find Better Ways To Force Students To Use The Recycling Bin & I Hope You Made A Huge Impact On The Students You Talked To In Your Dorm. I Think You Did Very Well On Your Project! :) And It Was Interesting To Read About! :)