SUSTAINABILITY: Recycling is a visible part of being sustainable. Meeting current social and economic needs without compromising environmental resources for future generations. Recycling is a visible part of being sustainable. Many people have heard the word “sustainability” but often aren’t confident with defining it. Catch phrases such as “going green” or “the triple bottom” line are often what come to mind when people think of sustainability…so does recycling. Recycling is one very important part of sustainable development and its an easy way that you can contribute to SLU being a community that is socially equitabl, economically viable, and environmentally friendly. Participation is recycling is a building block for promoting sustainable development on campus.

$$ $$$ Common reasons to Recycle: Less harmful to the planet + human health Protects trees, ecosystems, and animals Less air, water, and soil pollution Conserves resources Keeps valuable, non-renewable resources usable Creates more jobs than landfilling Saves money: more cost effective than landfilling Yes, you should recycle because it is “the right thing to do.” But, what makes it “right”? Well, consider if we didn’t recycle. We’d fill up more landfills, we’d eventually run low on non-renewable resources, which would up the price and cost of everyday items, we would increase pollution, we would destroy ecosystems, and we would harm human and animal health. So, we recycle to minimize damage, save money, and keep costs low. $$ $$$ Recycling removal costs less.

Recycle to save money. $$ $$$ Removing trash from campus costs 33% more than removing recycling.* Therefore, throwing recyclables into the trash is like tossing money into a landfill. The more we maximize our recycling potential, the more money we can save and divert from landfills to other money and resource-saving sustainability initiatives on campus. Since SLU has introduced single-stream recycling, waste collection costs have been slashed by 18%, saving tens of thousands of dollars annually. One major reason to be motivated to recycle has to do with saving money. Because recyclable materials have re-use value, companies are willing to charge less to remove recycling than they are trash. Consequently, the same item if recycled costs less to remove from campus than if you toss it in a black landfill trash can. The more we maximize our recycling potential on campus, the more SLU can save on waste removal costs. As of now, with just recycling 20-30% of what we throw away the campus has cut waste removal costs by 18%. If we maximize our recycling potential to most of what we throw away, we’ll save even more money! $$ $$$ Recycling removal costs less. *33% is an approximation

I want to clarify current rules for recycling at SLU. Do you recycle already? How many of you recycle at home? Rules Change: Every place has slightly different rules and restrictions for recycling. As recycling technology evolves, the system for recycling also changes. Today you’d be hard pressed to find a person who has never recycled. In fact, most of us recycle on a daily basis, but we probably don’t recycle everything that we could be recycling. A lot of this has to do with inconsistencies across recycling. Recycling has evolved over time, so what used to be trash is now recyclable, and recycling capabilities vary from location to location so what you can recycle in the city of St. Louis may not be recyclable in Ladue. So, today, we want to make sure that you are clear about the recycling rules at SLU so you can maximze your recycling potential and keep as much out of landfills as possible. I want to clarify current rules for recycling at SLU.

1 2 3 4 Steps in the Single-Stream Recycling Process Recycling is collected in blue receptacles with blue liners. 2 Blue bags of recycling go into a dumpster 3 Waste Management empties the dumpster and delivers the contents to a Recycling Center. Maximizing recycling potential begins with recycling most of what we throw away and making recycling as easy as possible. Accordingly, SLU is a “single-stream” campus. This means that all recyclables, whether they be paper, metal, plastic, or glass can be tossed into the same bin on campus. No need to sort or rinse, just use it up, break it down, and toss it in the blue. Many people wonder where our recycling goes. At SLU the process is pretty simple. Recycling goes from blue bins to dumpsters with yellow-lids which Waste Management empties and then delivers to local RockTenn recycling centers. 4 Recycling Center recycles paper, metal, plastic and glass. 03/2013

What fills the blue bins? What goes in landfill trash? PAPER FOOD METAL LIQUIDS PLASTIC All single-stream recyclables go into the blue containers around campus. They may be different shapes and sizes, but the color is always the same. Blue for single-stream. Black is reserved for landfill trash: food, liquids, styrofoam. STYROFOAM GLASS

For you to keep: This brochure can be a reference for you to use in case you want to double check that any items are recyclable. Take this with you and put it in a handy place.

PAPER If you can tear it, you can recycle it. Cardboard is a type of paper. Even if it’s wet from water or a little soiled, you can recycle it. A little bit of food is ok. Like a greasy pizza box can be recycled! Common, everyday paper products that are recyclable include coffee cups and warmers, as well as unused or water saturated paper towels and napkins. Pizza boxes, newspapers, junk mail, milk cartons…all recyclable!

PLASTIC Look for the stamp. SLU collects all # 1-7 (no styrofoam). Lids can stay on. Don’t have to be rinsed, just empty. Done with that yogurt cup? No need to clean it, just recycle it! Plastic is all around and technology allows us to recycle a lot more varieties than we used to. Those tiny stamps on the bottom of plastic are there to help us know if the chemical makeup of a particular plastic can be recycled or not…today, and on SLU’s campus, we can recycle any item stamped with a number 1-7. This typically means most plastic, but it does not mean all. If it lacks a stamp, that means its not recyclable.

Should be almost or completely empty. Lids can stay on. METAL GLASS Should be almost or completely empty. Lids can stay on. They do not have to be rinsed, just empty. Soda cans are probably the most commonly recognized recyclable material, but you can also recycle metal lids, soup cans, aluminum foil, and empty hair spray containers.

Recyclables don’t have to be perfect to get recycled. If you’ve used it up, you can toss it in. But, food, liquid and trash should be less than 5%. Too much trash in the recycling contaminates it and forces us to send the whole batch to the landfill. Another modern recycling convenience is the ability to use your container, and then toss it in to the recycling. You do not have to rinse it out or make it spotless. Just realize that most of the food or liquid needs to be gone from the container before you put it in the blue bin.

Creative Ways to recycle Art

Creative Ways to Recycle

Further Condense what you throw away Compost What? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMq_hfhXnBc

Our goal is to reach 30% in 2014! 7.9% Diversion Rate 14.3% Diversion Rate SLU’s goal is to reach a minimum recycling rate of 30%, which might seem low since most of what we throw away can be recycled. But, this means doubling our current recycling rate. We need to start recycling at least twice as much of what we throw away on a daily basis than we have been. In fact, I bet you can recycle even more than that. I bet you can recycle nearly everything you throw away! Consider what is in front of you and among us in the room right now. Which of these items that you plan on throwing away is actually recyclable? Single-Stream Recycling Landfill Trash

Remember: When it comes to recycling… Collect paper, metal, plastic, and glass together in the same containers Put food, liquids, and styrofoam in the trash. Put recycling into dumpsters with yellow lids. Place a FAMIS work order (K:Recycling) to request pickups for electronics or appliances as these are recycled separately as “e-waste.” Contact us with questions or concerns: greenbilliken@slu.edu. Single-stream recycling is just one type of recycling that SLU facilitates. It also collects “E-waste” but this is separate from single-stream. E-waste includes electronics and appliances, or anything with a cord, that is obsolete or beyond repair. Ink and toner cartridges may also be collected as e-waste. To get these items picked up for responsible recycling and disposal, submit a work order through famisweb. Thank you for your time today and if you have any future questions about recycling or sustainability in general at SLU please contact us at greenbilliken@slu.edu.