Executive Summary
A renowned post-secondary school in Milwaukee began using Busch Systems ‘Multi-Recycler’ in March 2010. The goal was to increase the amount of materials collected by using a single-stream recycling program. This case study will look at how the ‘Multi-Recycler’ helped create a successful single-stream program in the residence halls across the campus.
Background
Busch Systems International
- North American leader of waste, compost and recycling containers for the past 25 years
- Set the industry standard for the yearly production of new molded bins
- Each container is 100% recyclable and North America made with a minimum of 35% recycled content
Multi-Recycler
- 6 gallon capacity
- Stacks easily to create a recycling station
- Slanted opening for easy access
- Water tight to eliminate messes from spilled liquids
- Open design ideal for single-stream recycling
Analysis
The Milwaukee post-secondary school set the goal of introducing a single-stream recycling program on campus for their 2010 academic year. Single-stream recycling is a program which collects all recyclables into one container for separation later at a Materials Recovery Facility. This type of program is ideal for academic spaces as it is easy to use and maintain. For this the school wanted three types of collection containers:
- Waste containers
- Blue ‘Multi-Recycler’ for collecting mixed recyclables
- Green ‘Multi-Recycler’ for collecting paper only
1200 ‘Multi-Recyclers’ were added to 513 single and double occupancy residency rooms. According to a Student Representative from the Milwaukee school, “We understand that our school is part of a larger community and with that our recycling team has worked over the past year to develop goals for our new recycling program. The team has selected the following as their three main goals:
- Protect student/employee confidential information while complying with federal/state privacy laws
- Become better environmental citizens and reduce our harmful impact on the environment
- Control and reduce costs associated with trash removal from campus
We feel that with these three goals in mind our school has a great opportunity to help further the idea of sustainability on college campuses across the country.”
Multi Recycler
These goals collectively aim to increase the amount of recyclables collected in the three residence halls on campus. The school
estimates that their previous recycling program collected about 20-40% of the possible items for recycling. The new single-stream program is estimated to collect about 60-80% of what it could be. The Milwaukee school hopes that with the ‘Multi-Recycler’ they will be able to collect 100% of the available recyclables within the next year.
The recycling program operates by having students collect and sort items immediately in their dorm rooms. From the rooms the materials are then:
- Taken to a central location (which are located on each floor)
- Collected by Waste Management (waste and mixed recyclable streams only)
- Transported to a sorting plant where they are recycled
- The paper stream is collected by a local shredding company who shreds and recycles it
The school selected the Busch Systems ‘Multi-Recycler’ to create their program as:
- The handles make it easy for students to transport to the central collection location
- The stackable design allows it to fit in dorm rooms without occupying a great deal of space
- The recycling station which the ‘Multi-Recycler’ creates makes it easy to store and sort materials
- Custom stamping options make it very easy to use
Conclusion
The Busch Systems ‘Multi-Recycler’ has helped the renowned Milwaukee school create a single-stream recycling program. The program is easy to use, maintain and is expected to increase diversion rates campus wide. What remains to be seen is just how much the diversion rates will change in the future. The new recycling program has been well organized and implemented by the schools recycling team which includes the use of well selected Busch Systems containers.
