Recycling bin usage increases

Penn's campus is getting greener every day. Though the University's new recycling program originally met limited success, officials are now saying that student participation is on the rise. Implemented about a month ago to increase recycling at Penn, the program has converted 22 of the 82 trash containers on and around Locust Walk into receptacles for paper or commingled waste -- glass, plastic and aluminum. Director of Maintenance and Facilities Services Mike Coleman said the new recycling cans were originally being stuffed with trash. "Unfortunately, when you recycle, if you get any contamination, it's all waste," he said. "We were having a lot of contamination." Coleman said that contamination in these small cans is a problem, since it is impossible to have someone sort through it. "I'd say in this arena, with the smaller trash cans, then yes, we can't have a guy sitting out there picking through trash," Coleman explained. Part of the problem may have stemmed from the fact that the new recycling receptacles look almost identical to the trash cans on Locust Walk. But Coleman said student response to the program has been improving, calling the early failures expected "growing pains." "We need to educate the community," Coleman said. "We've taken a turn for the positive. The last week or so, we've seen some positive results." In the past few weeks, the student-run Penn Environmental Group placed signs and posters in dormitories and around campus alerting people to the existence of the new recycling containers. Penn also repainted the 11 large recycling bins, called igloos, with the three-arrow recycling symbol to draw student attention and indicate that any recyclable material can be dropped inside. Coleman says that student response rose after recycling containers were moved closer to trash cans in an effort to make people understand that the containers are for recycling. And Coleman says that PEG deserves their share of the praise. "PEG really helped too," he said. "They really got out there to the community." However, Coleman said there was still room for improvement. "We're seeing two-and-a-half to five pounds [in each] can," he said, adding that each can holds up to 20 pounds. "Say we got 10 pounds a load -- we can make a big impact." Last year, Penn recycled 26 percent of its 7,100 tons of waste, which is two percentage points shy of the national average. Penn also hopes to expand the number of new containers to include parts of campus east of 34th Street. Currently, all of the new recycling receptacles are located between 38th and 34th streets. In addition, the smaller recycling bins have received new lids depending on whether they are for paper or commingled waste, with small slots on the paper receptacles to make it hard to place regular garbage inside. By converting some existing trash cans into recycling bins, Coleman said, the initiative has served as an effective and economical way of improving campus recycling because Penn did not have to buy new cans. "It wasn't a big investment," Coleman said, estimating the cost in the hundreds of dollars. "For lack of a better word, I'd call it a minimal investment."