Photo Illustration by Matt Weir / The Collegian
Many students and faculty are confused about the current status of the recycling program on campus. With recent layoffs and retirements, word has surfaced that the recycling program is no longer operating at Fresno State.
The recent retirement of Assistant Vice President David Moll resulted in the department of Risk Management and Sustainability to be reorganized, which has caused the apparent misconception of the state of the recycling program.
Lisa Kao administrator of Environmental Health and Safety, said she doesn’t know why the rumor started because the recycling program will continue to operate as usual.
“I don’t know where people heard that, but we are still recycling,” Kao said. “We have blue recycling bins behind every building and individuals are allowed to throw their own recyclables in there as well.”
Kao said there are other measures put in place to ensure that recyclables are not accidently thrown into garbage bins with trash.
“We also maintain a student assistant that goes around campus to collect paper from offices to be directly sent to recycling,” Kao said. “Whenever we have large events like football games, the local conservation group puts out bins to collect recyclable material.”
Kao said a lot of people might not be aware of the extent the campus goes in order to ensure recyclables are not tossed in with the garbage.
“Our trash gets collected by a company called Sunset Waste and they always sort through the trash and pull out the recyclable materials, and only non-recyclables make it to the landfill,” Kao said.
Kelsey Ritcheson, a communicative and deaf studies major, said she thought that if a recyclable is tossed into a garbage bin that it would wind up in a landfill.
“I think it’s really great that the school is making sure to recycle as much as it can,” Ritcheson said. “It’s important for Fresno State, especially as an agriculture school, to lead the way for other schools.”
Ritcheson said even though she likes that the trash on campus is sorted through, students should still make a conscious effort to not throw recyclables into the trash containers.
“I understand people are in a rush getting to and from class, but there are plenty of recycle bins around campus,” Ritcheson said.
Kao said if students are interested about the recycling program they can even get a tour of the Sunset Waste facility and observe the sorting process.
“It’s really neat to see how they do it,” Kao said. “At one point you can see them handpick it out and then later you can see the machines do it.”
Kao said if students are looking to get involved or want more information, there is an active sustainability committee that will meet Sept. 16 at 8:30 p.m. in room 2018 of the Henry Madden Library.