On Oct. 24, Green Scene hosted a presentation on recycling and sustainability given by the new Director of Sustainability Brittany Drummond. Drummond presented on a wide range of changes that NCC made to make the campus more sustainable.
A few sustainable measures NCC now has on campus include a community garden, permeable pavers, rain gardens and prairie restoration. Others include occupancy sensors, LEDs, geothermal energy used for ResRec, solar thermal panels on New Hall that are used to replace natural gas for water heating and more.
Students can be more sustainable by using Cardinal Red Bikes and properly using waste disposal bins around campus. Brittany Drummond, Director of Sustainability, encourages everyone to learn how to properly recycle.
“Due to changes in the global recycling market, the College’s waste hauler, Waste Management, is now enforcing stricter recycling requirements,” said Drummond. “China recently expressed they will no longer accept certain materials and will not accept any contaminated recycling.”
Taking the time to separate garbage, recyclables and compostables can make a difference. The largest waste station on campus is on the first floor of Wentz Science Center and gives students the opportunity to separate their waste by batteries, electronics, plastic bags, granola bar wrappers, recycling and landfill.
“I think the biggest thing is just being aware and taking a minute to think about what you’re putting in there, think about whether it’s clean, and always look at the signs,” said Anna Halverson, ’20.
It is important that people understand proper recycling and how to clean things before they put them in a bin, such as aluminum cans, to reduce contamination. Although many items contain recycling arrows on them, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are recyclable. For example, No. 6 items aren’t recyclable. Also, pizza boxes can be recycled if there are no food or grease stains. Otherwise, composting them would be best. When you’re not sure what to do, “if in doubt, throw it out.”
While recycling can be sustainable when done properly, recycling is not the solution to fix environmental problems. The best solution is to eliminate waste by reducing and reusing. People need to think of ways to reduce their waste so as to reduce waste dumped in landfills. One way to reduce waste on campus is through composting, especially at Kaufman Dining Hall.
“Hopefully we have recycling down with all these changes and we do amazing,” Drummond said. “I hope the next few years we’re able to put solar up on a bunch more buildings too.”
