"Is that recyclable?" Wharton and Engineering sophomore Lori Werfel urges University students to ask themselves that question each time they take out the trash. And after the success of a recycling program instituted in Van Pelt College House last November, the Undergraduate Assembly's Recycling Committee will implement a similar program in Ware College House this fall. Werfel heads the Recycling Committee Club, a subdivision of the Penn Environmental Club. She is currently working with Residence Life and the University's Recycling Group to ensure that glass bottles, aluminum cans and paper products are deposited in appropriate locations in Ware and other campus residences. Last November, Werfel and College junior Josh Rockoff devised a pilot program that distributed blue recycling bins to every suite in Van Pelt. Rockoff based that program on a 1986 Princeton University study showing that recycling increased by 175 percent after recycling bins were placed in each upper-class dormitory suite. The Recycling Committee chose Van Pelt because it is a small, controlled environment with its own garbage collection facilities, Werfel explained. She attributed the small increase in the quantity of paper recycled at Van Pelt to the "convenience and ease" of having a bin in each common room as opposed to a central bin in the lounge. While the committee did not notice a dramatic increase in the quantity of recycled materials, the quality of such goods increased dramatically. Werfel added that there is a certain level of acceptable contamination in recycling bins around campus. If the contamination exceeds that level, the bins are refused and the University must pay to dispose of the paper as trash, at a typical rate of $70 per ton of garbage. She noted that only one Van Pelt bin has been considered an "impure mix" since the program was instituted, adding that the committee expanded the program to Ware because of the dorm's small size. Although setup costs are high, Werfel hopes to expand the program to include the rest of the college houses. She said, however, that it is unlikely that the high rises and most of the Quadrangle will participate in the program. Since even-numbered floors of the high rises are already equipped with yellow recycling bins for paper -- located down the hall from the trash rooms -- Werfel said it would be too costly to offer each room a separate recycling bin. "The time and money will be better spent informing people in the high rises about the trash rooms," she explained. And Physical Plant Recycling Superintendent Al Pallanti added that "the key is to start slow and small. "Recognize your mistakes first and try to remedy them," Pallanti said. The University began its recycling effort in March 1990 by placing recycling bins for office paper in the Franklin Building. And Pallanti noted that the University saved $210,000 last year by recycling 2,719 tons of mixed paper and 144 tons of plastic, glass and cans. The University recycles 30 percent of its waste, while the city of Philadelphia recycles only 13 percent. Pennsylvania recently initiated a recycling mandate requiring institutions to recycle 25 percent of their waste stream each year. Pallanti added that recycling is "cost-effective and environmentally sound," explaining that recycled products are a commodity whose value rises and falls in connection with market demands. And he pushed students to purchase recycled notebooks and glass to increase the demand for recycled products and encourage companies to purchase more recycled paper.
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