Why aren’t there recycling bins at Fresno State? If you are a recycling-minded individual at Fresno State, you have probably asked this question to yourself on several occasions.

The answer is Fresno State’s solid waste contractor, Industrial Waste and Salvage (IWS), separates the recycling from the trash, according to Lisa Kao, manager of the Fresno State office of environmental health safety, risk management and sustainability.

Kao said, “In the … past, we had three types of well-labeled outdoor waste/recycling 55-gallon containers throughout campus: paper, recyclable beverage containers and trash. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful. The beverage bin would be empty of beverage containers and full of regular trash, because, despite our efforts to lock the bins, vagrants would break the locks and steal the contents. The paper bin would invariably be contaminated with wet trash making it impossible/unpleasant to sort.”

IWS has been the Fresno State solid waste contractor since 2013. It is IWS’ practice to separate trash and recycling at its facility, so the recycling bins were no longer needed. Kao said.

“The results improved dramatically when we went with IWS handling the sorting versus self-sorting,” she explained.

Using this system does not mean that Fresno State no longer recycles. According to Fresno State President Dr. Joseph Castro’s Feedback Responses Page, Fresno State has a “72 percent diversion rate.” Kao clarifies that 72 percent of the waste produced by Fresno State is diverted from landfills and is recycled.

When asked about who profits from Fresno State’s recyclables, Kao said, “If there are any proceeds, the amount helps to defray the overall cost of handling the solid waste.”