Last modified: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
More than 14 tons of cardboard recycled from IU residence halls move-in
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 16, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- There was a time when the influx of students moving into Indiana University Bloomington residence halls meant an outflow of used cardboard boxes going to an area landfill.
David Page of RPS environmental operations with a loaded bin of recycled cardboard
No more. For the past two years, IU Residential Programs & Services staff members have worked with student volunteers and others to collect and recycle the boxes.
This year, RPS staff, the student group Volunteers in Sustainability, students and parents worked together to collect and recycle 14.24 tons of cardboard during the opening week of residence halls. The effort resulted in a rebate of $997 from Hoosier Disposal, helping offset the cost of collection bins.
"Last year, 12 tons of cardboard was recycled. We're pleased that even more was recycled this year," said Steve Akers, associate director of environmental operations for Residential Programs and Services. "As one parent commented, 'That's a lot of cardboard that will not go to your landfill.'"
The cardboard was collected in 14 metal open-top bins stationed at the 11 IU residence centers during move-in week, Aug. 23-30. RPS staff and Volunteers in Sustainability monitored the bins, flattening boxes and removing trash to keep the collected cardboard clean.
The cardboard recycling initiative resulted from discussions in 2008 between RPS and the IU Office of Sustainability.
About Volunteers in Sustainability
IU Volunteers in Sustainability is an umbrella organization coordinating environmentally oriented volunteer activities on the IU Bloomington campus and facilitating communication between student and community environmental groups. For more information, see https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/vis.html or e-mail vsustain@indiana.edu.
About Residential Programs & Services
The mission of the Division of Residential Programs and Services is to bring the academic life of the university into the student's living environment by providing a residential experience which best meets the educational and developmental goals of residents outside the classroom, enabling them to succeed inside the classroom. For more information, see https://www.rps.indiana.edu.
