IWU News

Annual Dumpster Dive Discovers Campus Getting Greener

December 10, 2004

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—With the help of custodians and labor crew, a group of Illinois Wesleyan students raided recycling bins and tunneled through trash for the University’s fifth annual Dumpster Dive on Nov. 2, 2004.

Thirty-five people participated in the weighing, sorting, and analysis of IWU’s garbage and recycled materials with the supervision of R. Given Harper, professor and chair of biology and associate director of environmental studies, and Abigail Jahiel, associate professor of environmental and international studies and director of the environmental studies program at IWU.

According to Jahiel and Harper, the main goals for this year’s Dumpster Dive were to measure the rate of recycling on campus, assess the degree of contamination in recycled materials, and to identify specific buildings on campus where the recycling effort could be improved.

To achieve these goals, one day’s waste of both garbage and recycled materials, was collected from each University building and labeled appropriately. The garbage was weighed and recorded. It was then sorted to determine what materials discarded as garbage should have been recycled. Similarly, each building’s recycled material was weighed and examined for evidence of contamination. Contamination can occur in one of two ways: when paper, containers and cardboard are placed into the same recycling receptacle or when non-recyclable materials are mixed in with recyclables. The weight of the “contamination” was subtracted from the total weight of the building’s recycled materials.
Following the sorting and disposal process, the total weight for a day’s worth of campus waste was calculated. Individual calculations were also made to determine the total weight of campus garbage, recycling, and the adjusted weights of recyclable materials. The findings were then separated into five categories: academic buildings, administrative buildings, residential halls, Sodexho dining services, and the University as a whole.

Although, Jahiel and Harper acknowledge that the total waste recycled on campus in this dive (33 percent) is not a drastic change from last year’s figure (32 percent), both are pleased with this year’s results. Most notably, the gap between the actual recycling rate this year (33 percent) and the potential for recycling rate (48 percent) was the smallest since the Dumpster Dive program began in 2001.

Jahiel and Harper were also glad to find that recycling in administration buildings continues to increase and contamination is not a concern in these buildings. According to the pair, there are only a few residence halls which bare a large share of responsibility for insufficient recycling, suggesting that with a little effort our campus can stand as a model of environmental stewardship.

Based on the results of past Dumpster Dives and their analysis of this year’s data, Jahiel and Harper have several recommendations to increase the rate and efficiency of recycling on IWU’s campus. The professors found that adding more recycling bins to Dodds Hall and Shirk Center would help to improve the recycling effort in the buildings. In addition, they recommend that educational efforts be undertaken in Dodds, Munsell and Holmes Hall to assure that all residents know how to recycle in their building and are aware of the importance of the practice. Furthermore, Harper and Jahiel believe that efforts must be taken to institutionalize routine environmental education for all new members of the campus community, including students, faculty and staff.

For additional information, please contact the office of University Communications at (309) 556-3181.