Campus recycling program approved

ByKirstie Hettinga
The Collegian

A campus-wide pilot program for recycling was unanimously supported by the Campus Recycling Advisory Board Oct. 26. This project by Fresno State Plant Operations follows the efforts of the Associated Students to create a recycling program on campus.

AS senator Josh McDonald, one of the senators who was working on the proposed AS recycling program, said he was pleasantly shocked by the decision.

McDonald said he, the other senators and AS President Juan Pablo Moncayo had proposed AS’s involvement in such a program because the university had not made the effort.

“The University has not wanted to do this, now I don’t know whether this is an actual conscience decision not to or they just hadn’t decided to get the effort into it,” McDonald said.

While the proposed Plant Operations recycling program closely mimics AS’s proposal, the primary difference comes in the collection of the recyclable material.

According to McDonald, “It’s basically the same proposal that AS worked on, there’s going to be 27 pairs of bins, except in this case, the Local Conservation Corps is going to take care of the bins.”

A Fresno city recycling audit estimates the campus is throwing away nearly $3.5 million in bottles and cans each year.

McDonald sees the potential for the university to gain revenue by collecting recyclable material on its own, but for the first year, in the pilot program, the Local Conservation Corps will do the collection and keep the proceeds.

“It’s a free service,” McDonald said, and in a year, Plant Operations will have to decide if they want to take over the collection themselves.

McDonald said what turned around the university’s decision to form a recycling program was probably a multitude of things.

“It’s sort of in response to indirect pressure … and to very direct pressure from the city of Fresno,” he said.

Ryan McCaughey is one member of Plant Operations who is helping to spearhead the recycling proposal.

McCaughey said there is “nothing at the moment for bottles and cans.”

Plant Operations is also working to redo their waste contract to include recycling, according to McCaughey.

The Plant Operations recycling program is still in the development stages and the recycling bins must be approved through campus planning. However, the AS Senate unanimously approved a resolution by McDonald to support Plant Ops and urging the administration to approve the program as well.

AS will still be making an effort to keep students aware of what can and cannot be recycled as well as keep them up to date on when the program begins on campus.

McDonald said, “We’re going to try to roll out a big blitz, in the beginning of spring semester so that everyone comes in and hears about recycling more than once.”

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