The Business Honors Program Sustainability Committee has given students the opportunity to reduce their personal carbon footprint during their end-of-the-year cleanout.
The committee is teaming up with The University of Alabama Recycling Center for the third annual Finals Clean Out. Students can recycle their notebooks, binder-ready textbooks, notes, notecards, newspapers and other recyclable items in 10 blue recycling bins on campus until Dec. 7.
Tony Johnson, executive director of UA’s Logistics and Support Services, which oversees the Recycling Center, encourages students to go green and contribute to the event.
“It’s the right thing to do for the environment and the community,” Johnson said. “The more we convert, the less we have to contribute to local landfills.”
Tim Mask, the warehouse service coordinator at the Recycling Center, said recycling is not just good for the environment, but it also creates jobs for people that are taking the material and recycling it back into other items.
Charlie Boswell, the director of the Logistics and Support Services, said Finals Clean Out produced a little more than 615 pounds of recycling material in 2011.
Johnson said the recycling helps the University save money. He said it costs $28 per ton to send garbage to the landfill. The warehouse collects more than 13,000 tons of recyclable material from campus yearly, saving the University from spending more than $364,000 worth of garbage to the landfill, he said.
Recyclables are processed and bundled together, so truck drivers don’t have to make several trips to transport lose material to the market. The warehouse collects between 5,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds a day, depending on the time of year. The average on the University’s move-in day is about 15,000 pounds.
“We reduce our carbon footprint by bundling,” Johnson said.
The center has bins outside of the building for its Drive Up Recycling program. Commuter students, Tuscaloosa residents, and anyone else that wants to participate can stop by the center and dispose of their recyclables.
“It’s packed throughout the day, especially between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.,” Mask said. “It has been really successful for us.”
Bria Mattox, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, said students can make a big impact if everyone recycled regularly. She plans to participate in Finals Clean Out.
“Students should care about recycling, because it reduces the amount of non-degradable waste that ends up in our oceans and in our already scarce landfills,” Mattox said. “It also reduces air pollution, and saves energy.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the recycling process can stop by the Recycling Center on 111514th St.
Bins are located outside of the SUPe Store in the Ferguson Center, Tutwiler Hall, Burke Hall, Gorgas Library, Lloyd Hall, Bidgood Hall, Ridgecrest South, Ridgecrest West and Lakeside Dining.
