Recycling

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Recycling

• By Amber Kirley Colby Stohr

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Recycling in Monroe County

• Everybody in the county has been required to
  recycle since 1992
• There is curb-side pick-up and drop off centers
  for recycling
• http//www.monroecounty.gov/des-solidwaste.php

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What is required to be Recycled in Monroe County?

• Residents are required to recycle the following
  things steel, aluminum, clear, brown, and green
  glass, numbers 1 and 2 plastics, paper,
  newspapers, magazines, corrugated cardboard, and
  large appliances
• Businesses, Institutions and Industries have to
  recycle the things above if it applies along with
  corrugated cardboard and high-grade office paper
• http//www.monroecounty.gov/des-solidwaste.php

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What else can be Recycled in Monroe County?

• Electronics (computers and televisions for
  example
• Places that take these things Rochester
  Computer Recycling and Recovery, Maven
  Technologies, and Sunnking Inc.
• http//www.monroecounty.gov/des-electronicsrecycli
  ng.php

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Recycling in Thompson Hall

• How many students in Thompson Hall recycle?
• What is being recycled? Are there things that are
  not being recycled that should be?
• Are the custodians that take care of our
  recycling well informed about what should and
  shouldnt be recycled?
• Are students well informed about recycling?

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Hypothesis

• We thought that students need more education on
  recycling
• 75 of our building recycles and over half are
  girls
• Our custodians throw things away that should be
  recycled

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Methods Used

• Counted recycling bins throughout the building
  and kept track of girls and guys sections
  separately
• The next day we interviewed the custodian that
  took care of the recycling bins

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Why would we choose to do this?

• We thought it would be a good idea to see how
  much students know about recycling because before
  we took environmental science we had no idea
  about all of the things that could be recycled
• Also to figure out how our custodians throw in
  the trash that could be recycled. By that we
  could tell if they needed to be educated on
  recycling or if their bosses were wrong

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Thompson Hall Recycling Percentages

• 2nd Floor
• Girls- 1st Section
• 10/11 91
• Girls- 2nd Section
• 8/11 73
• Guys- 3rd Section
• 4/11 36
• Girls- 4th Section
• 9/10 90

• 3rd Floor
• Girls- 1st Section
• 11/12 92
• Guys- 2nd Section
• 2/11 18
• Girls- 3rd Section
• 6/12 50
• Guys- 4th Section
• 6/10 60

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Recycling PercentagesGuys vs. Girls

• Girls
• Average 79.2 per week
• Guys
• Average 38 per week
• Girls tend to be more conscious about recycling
  then guys.

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Interview

• 1) What are you required to recycle from the
  dorms?
• Paper, Plastic, Glass
• 2) Is there anything you are not required to
  accept as recyclables?
• Anything that has once contained food.
• ex Pizza boxes, paper plates, plastic plates
  from the union, styrofoam containers and paper
  from Trax, plastic silverware.
• 3) What do you see the most of that students put
  in their recycling bins (Both recyclable and
  not)?
• Water bottles, sandwich baggies, plastic
  plates, styrofoam containers, cottonballs,
  plastic silverware.

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Interview (cont)

• 4) Does the amount of recyclables vary from week
  to week?
• No, we are steady with a lot of recyclables
  each week. Approximately 9 bags per week (3 for
  paper, 3 for plastic, 3 for glass)
• 5) Do you see a difference in how much girls
  recycle each week compared to how much guys
  recycle per week?
• Girls are more knowledgeable and know what to
  recycle while they recycle more of it. Guys tend
  to be more clueless and recycle whatever and
  dont always recycle.
• 6) How much do you personally know about
  recycling? Do you know about the Monroe County
  Recycling Policy?
• Knows what she can and cannot recycle on campus
  and in her home. Orleans County deals with
  different policies than Monroe County, As for
  the campus policy there are pickier rules because
  we are a college campus and our recycling policy
  comes from the State not the county.

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Interview (cont)

• 7) Do you pick up recycling in any other building
  for us to compare Thompson with? If so how does
  it vary?
• No, the only recycling picked up is from
  Thompson. From earlier labs we do know that each
  building and most separate rooms contain both a
  trash can and a recycling bin.
• 8) How much do you recycle at home?
• Recycle about the same amount as the students
  in Thompson Hall. There are only 2 people living
  at home. Same rules apply. Paper, plastic,
  glass is all that can be recyled.
• 9) Do you believe that recycling helps our earth?
• Yes, I truly do.

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Interview (cont)

• 10) In your opinion how much do you think
  students know about what they can and cannot
  recycle?
• 50/50. From the recycling picked up among the
  students of Thompson Hall some are really
  conscious and others dont seem to care. Some
  educating may be needed.

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Conclusions

• 1) Girls vs. Guys
• Girls care a lot more.guys have some learning
  to do
• They will throw away recyclables and put trash
  in the recycling bins.
• 2) More education needs to be given to students
  and faculty.
• Some student and faculty simply do not know
  what to recycle so they just dont or they
  recycle the wrong things.
• 3) Recycling bins need to be accessible and
  known.
• Some people do not notice the recycling bins
  are there or they cannot find recycling bins when
  needed.

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Need more information

• To draw further conclusions we could do a survey
  of both an academic building, a dorm, and a
  cafeteria on campus.
• The girl to guy ratio within Thompson Hall is
  uneven. There are 5 girls hall while only 3 guys
  halls.
• For more information we could interview a couple
  different janitors throughout Thompson instead of
  just one.

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Please Recycle!
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Literature Cited

• http//www.monroecounty.gov/des-solidwaste.php
• http//www.monroecounty.gov/des-electronicsrecycli
  ng.php