June 10, 2011 By Tim No Comments
The EMU “Recycle Bicycle”
Eastern Mennonite University is unique among colleges and universities in North America in that we use no fossil fuels for recycling and composting on campus. Even though the student population exceeds 1,000, all of the recycling/composting is collected by students and staff with an 8 foot trailer connected to a bicycle. Volunteers from the Earthkeepers club on campus collect and dump all the compost from our dining facility. 95.6 tons of recycling and compost were collected in the 2009-2010 fiscal year! All by pedal power! EMU recycles 40% of its Municipal Solid Waste, ranking it in the top 20% among colleges and universities nationwide (www.recyclemania.org).
EMU Recycling Program
As we look toward the future, EMU hopes to increase their recycling percentage to 50% and beyond in the next few years. Increased awareness and an improved recycling system around campus will help in achieving this goal. Busch Systems recycling containers are helping us convert to a three color (blue – cans and bottles, green – paper, yellow – cardboard) recycling system. Their containers are aesthetically pleasing and practical for our system. The Waste Watcher option is ideal for central locations and next to printers for heavy paper producing areas. They are also easy to handle and dump. The wide variety of recycling container options that Busch Systems offers makes it easy to set up collection spots for any location on campus: from desk side to heavily trafficked central locations.
Matthew,
Eastern Mennonite University
