Bringing Penn recycling up to speed

So you're walking out of class, finishing up that 20-ounce Coca Cola, looking around for a place to dump the bottle. But when it comes time to throw it out, there's not a recycling bin in sight. Sound familiar? With only 11 outdoor recycling bins, Penn isn't always the most earth-friendly place to live. Students have long commented that the University doesn't make it very easy to recycle. And while some updates to the system are underway, they are slow in coming. Currently, Penn recycles about 26 percent of all its waste. While this is just below the national average of 28 percent, many of the environmentally conscious say the school could do more. "In the past, Judith Rodin has sought to reduce binge drinking by changing a culture of the University," Undergraduate Assembly member Jed Gross said. "Right now, recycling does not seem to be at the heart of Penn's culture." During the 1999 fiscal year, Penn produced 7,100 tons of trash, of which 2,100 tons -- or 26 percent -- was recycled. In comparison, the city of Philadelphia during this time period recycled 35.2 percent of its total 645,000 tons waste -- but only 6 percent of specifically residential waste was recycled. One reason for Penn's somewhat underwhelming recycling numbers may be that access to recycling in Penn's dormitories is currently limited and inconvenient. Students living in the three high rises -- Hamilton, Harrison and Harnwell college houses -- have access to a chute for trash and paper on every floor, but only have aluminum-can recycling bins inside the building on even floors. Meanwhile, receptacles for cans, plastic and glass are only found outside the buildings. "I always try to recycle," College junior Natalie Dunn said. "But living in the high rises, they could make it easier so that more students recycle." This is currently true of most college residences. Though Penn has 131 spots on campus for the disposal of recyclables -- in buildings like David Rittenhouse Laboratory, Steinberg-Dietrich and McClelland halls -- outdoor recycling is only provided by 11 green igloos located around campus. Director of Campus Maintenance and Facilities Services Mike Coleman said that "the original intention of the igloos [was] for students to come out to them." Most of the recycling igloos are located up and down the Locust Walk area with three others placed near the graduate towers, Kings Court/English House and Hill House. Recently, the UA passed a resolution asking Penn to step up its commitment to better access to outdoor recycling. The current UA resolution, which is supported by the Penn Environmental Group, calls for more visible recycling receptacles next to outdoor trash cans, more frequent hauling of recyclables and a central office to handle recycling on campus. "It's our view that many people don't recycle because it isn't convenient," PEG member Sharon Hsu said. However, not until the end of last year did the UA join the effort. An informal task force was created by Gross, which also included Hsu, Kristina Rencic, Coleman, Penn Recycling Supervisor Ken Neborak and Julia Baylor Harton, another PEG member. To the UA, one main problem at Penn is the lack of centralization. "One of the problems is that there really isn't a single recycling program at Penn, but rather different recycling initiatives," Gross said. Right now, the University is reviewing the resolution. Though the proposals set forth by the UA are drawing praise from PEG, the environmental group still has loftier goals. Other goals of PEG are to have recycling receptacles on all floors of the high rises and to place recycling bins in each student room. In the meantime, work is underway to improve campus recycling. The college house system is gradually overhauling its facilities. A program in the Quadrangle -- which should take off within weeks -- will place three separate containers, one for trash, one for cans, plastic and glass and one for paper, in every student room. And three giant chutes are being constructed around the Quad as the receptacles for the sorted waste. The first one to open will be located at the Provost Tower, near the entrance to the lower Quad. Two others will be constructed near Speakman Hall in Ware College House and Graduate Hall in Spruce College House. The upgrades in the Quad's recycling facilities are part of a four-year renovation project that the complex is currently undergoing. But officials would not say what the plans were for the other dorms. However, college house spokeswoman Sue Smith hinted that the new Quad program is only the beginning, with similar programs to follow in each of the college houses. "Working on the Quad program has led us all to believe that we want to look at the rest of the residences," she said.