Amid Recycling Issues, Merten Pledges Commitment

By Broadside Staff Reporter Emily Sharrer
Photo courtesy of Flickr's 'Editor B'

George Mason University President Alan Merten has taken the first step in making sure that the green movement will continue at Mason for years to come. Merten recently signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which pledges Mason’s commitment to sustainability.

According to the commitment’s Web site the pledge said, “We, the undersigned presidents and chancellors of colleges and universities, are deeply concerned about the unprecedented scale and speed of global warming and its potential for large-scale, adverse health, social, economic and ecological effects.”

According to Press Secretary Dan Walsch, Merten’s signing of the climate commitment as well as the university’s addition of a new sustainability coordinator position, shows Mason is shaping up to kick carbon emissions.

However, a large part of curbing the global warming trend is recycling, which is an area Mason is hoping to improve in over time. Issues with funding, aesthetics and use all point to the possibility that Mason officials can discuss the issues. It is also important to place these techniques into the curriculum and take action. Though recycling bins are visible throughout campus and around most buildings, one place where they do not appear to be located is outside of Mason Hall, which houses the office of Merten and other members of administration at the university.

According to Sustainability Coordinator Lenna Storm, there is currently no campus-wide recycling standard, which lays out guidelines on where recycling bins should be placed. Building managers currently have free reign over what types of bins — if any — should go in front of and inside Mason’s buildings.

“My predecessor had told me that administration at that time did not want anything in front of Mason Hall or Center for the Arts, so we did not put anything in there,” said Ron Lim, manager of recycling and waster management at Mason.
Lim said, “We want to put stuff in and let people use them but we also have to respect the faculty and staff who do not want them in front of their door or too close by.”

“We want to have the prettiest campus we can,” Walsch said. “The people who place [recycling bins] out try to do so in a way that does not restrict or inhibit traffic going in and out of the building where you have to step over things or risk falling over something.”

He went on to say that “We try to do in a way that is not intrusive but visible enough... it is people like Ron who help determine the best place for something to go so it is not in the way but it is there and does not detract from the look of the facility.”

Aesthetics seems to be one of the reasons there are not more bins in front of certain buildings. Despite some requests to not have bins, Lim has been successful in placing a couple hundred bins throughout campus. In the Johnson Center, Lim recently put in two large blue bins so that instead of having to search for a bin, students can easily recycle their bottles and cans once they are finished eating.

One problem that has arose in the past with putting bins in the food court area is contamination. A main reason more bins are not being put on campus is the contamination that comes from incorrect use.

“The Johnson Center on the main floor we were told that was being set up [so] that they did not want recycling containers in there,” Lim said. I’ve made attempts to put a couple of can and bottle recyclers in the food court area twice, but there was so much food contamination, fruit flies and smell, that I yanked them out.”

According to Storm, this contamination stems from students throwing trash and half empty bottles into the recycling bins which unlike trashcans, are only taken out once a week. Bins are often only filled half way as well, another reason to sustain from putting more bins out.

“If they’re not being filled up why put more money into bins when the ones we’ve got aren’t being filled,” Storm said.
To solve this problem, Storm, Lim, Walsch and sophomore Lauren Spangler believe that a campaign to educate students and faculty should be initiated.

Spangler said, “I do not believe at all that it is the students to blame. There needs to be more of an explanation to these students as to why we need to recycle. There needs to be an effort put forth to make students aware of what is going on around our university as far as the recycling effort is concerned.”

“An explanation of what Plastics ‘1’ and ‘2’ are right on the bin in some kind of colorful manner may increase awareness as to what exactly can be put in the bins,” Spangler said. “The more education and the more of a push to get more green initiatives on campus.”

Walsch said, “We feel at the moment we have more than enough recycling bins at this university but we are hesitant to do more until people start using them to the fullest and stop using them as trashcans.”

“We want more people to get more actively involved not just students but employees as well because it is a challenge for all of us not just a certain portion of us,” Walsch said.

Besides contamination and aesthetic issues, there is another issue associated with Mason recycling, which is the budget to accommodate recycling needs on campus. While there are institutions on campus such as the Patriot Center that get to keep the revenue they generate, the recycling program is not one of them.

In 2007, Lim says he made over $35,000 in revenue but did not see any of it back in his operating account. According to Lim, this was because in order to receive money for recycling initiatives, Lim’s manager must put in a request to satisfy the needs of not only the recycling program but also the heating and air conditioning, plumbing and other programs.

Since Lim became the manager in February 2001 he has been inquiring about the recycling program becoming one of Mason’s self sustaining programs.