Proposal to Research the Feasibly of Implementing a Campus Wide Recycling Program JMLT Consultants
Current Status of TTU Recycling • Texas Tech University (TTU) is the only Big 12 school that has no campus wide recycling program. • Currently there is a small recycling program localized to the library, the Bledsoe Gordon Sneed (BGS) housing complex, McClellan Hall, the horticulture greenhouse and the Biology building. • The University does not support any kind of recycling program.
Grassroots • The recyclables that are collected on the campus are collected by a small independent organization called Grassroots. • According to Grassroots president Melanie Walden, usually about 5 or 6 large garbage bags of recyclables are collected every two weeks from each of the three residence halls • Plastic bottles make up the largest volume of the material recycled.
Why Should TTU Recycle? • In 2000, recycling resulted in an annual energy savings equal to the amount of energy used in 6 million homes. • Every bit of recycling makes a difference. For example, one year of recycling on just one college campus, Stanford University, saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone. • If we do not start recycling, our landfill space will fill up and we will have to recycle .
Other Big 12 Schools • TTU is one of the largest colleges in the state of Texas, yet is the only Big 12 School that does not have a campus-wide recycling program (Brinker, Sept. 23, 2005). • A quick glance at some other Big 12 recycling programs demonstrates a pattern of recycling success that Texas Tech may be able to emulate.
Other Big 12 Schools • University of Texas The University of Texas in Austin started off with one building committed to recycling paper. Now they are one of the leading colleges devoted to recycling all types of products. In the 05-06 academic year they recycled a total of 2,912,560 pounds of paper. • The University of Baylor Baylor’s recycling is smaller than most college recycling programs. It only consists of paper products only. Baylor recycles paper products consisting of white paper, newspaper and cardboard. Cardboard boxes are placed in each office and by every copy machine. The only paper products which are not to be recycled are carbon paper and blue prints. Housekeeping empties the boxes as necessary into recycling dumpsters.
Other Big 12 Schools • The University of A&M The recycling program was started in 1990 as a pilot program in six buildings on campus collecting only white paper and aluminum. In 1991 the project went campus-wide. It now operates in 135 buildings with 120,000 pounds of recycling material collected every month. The products are collected by the Physical Plant and are than taken to the Sorting Facility to be sorted, baled, and shipped to recycling plants all over the country. • The University of Oklahoma Program first started in 1990 with only white and green paper on the Norman campus. In 1998 President David L. Boren announced an expansion of the program to include dorms, and initiated collection of aluminum, plastic, newspaper, and cardboard in addition to paper. In 1999 the program acquired a larger facility, purchased a baler and forklift. In 2000 “Oklahoma City Earth Day” recognized the University of Oklahoma’s recycling program with an “Environmental Excellence” award.
Proposed Plan • 1) Conduct a survey to determine student attitudes toward the likelihood of recycling • 2) Audit the garbage output on campus • 3) Conduct a pilot project to determine the volume of what is recycle • 4) Ascertain the best way to dispose of the recyclable material • 5) Conduct a cost audit.
The Survey • A survey will be designed to assess the level of willingness of students to recycle on campus, and to see what their feelings are toward a tuition hike to pay for the recycling program. • We conducted a preliminary convenience survey of 15 people.
Survey Questions – Do you recycle? – If you recycle, what do you recycle? – Where do you recycle? – Would you be willing to participate in recycling on the TTU campus? – Where would you be willing to recycle on campus? – Is recycling beneficial to our environment? – Would you be willing to see a small increase in tuition to support recycling on campus?
Results of Survey • 4 of 15 recycle in general (meaning mostly at home.) • 11 of the 15 people surveyed said they would recycle if TTU had a campus recycling program. • 6 of the 15 support a small increase in tuition to help fund the program • 13 of the 15 said they would recycle at the Student Union Building. • All said recycling is beneficial for our environment.
Auditing Garbage • We need to audit the garbage output on campus to see how much the garbage actually produced is recyclable. • If only a small minority of garbage produced on campus is recyclable, then it would not be financially beneficial for TTU to recycle.
Pilot Project • A recycling pilot project will be carried out during April 2007, in the latter half of the spring semester. • Recycling bins will be placed in select locations around campus. • Our group will collect the material put in the bins once weekly for four weeks and estimate the volume of what is recycled, and adjust the location or size of bins to evaluate the effect of bin placement and spacing.
Pilot Program Cont. • In each place the certain levels will be ascertained: The type and volume of recyclables put in the bins. How much non-recyclable garbage is disposed of in the bins The amount of participation How often the bins will needed to be emptied.
Pilot Program Cont. • The pilot bins will be set up in the following places: – Bledsoe-Gordon-Sneed and Chitwood Weymouth – Holden Hall – The Student Union Building – Drane Hall – The Civil Engineering Building – The Education Building – Dan Law Field
Pilot Program Cont. • In each of these places, except Dan Law Field, a set of six bins will be placed together in the hallway. • The bins will be made of blue plastic. Each of the bins will be 11" deep, 20" wide, and 30" high, with a total volume of 23 gallons and a light weight (9 pounds). • Each bin will be labeled for a different recycling product: plastic, white paper, newspaper, aluminum, glass, and cardboard. • This necessitates a separate dumpster for each material. If a campus wide recycling program is approved, six 16' x 7' x 3', will need to be put somewhere on campus
Ascertain the Best Way to Dispose of the Recyclable Material • We will consult with the director of the physical plant, Max Hinihosa, to allocate a pickup to haul the recyclables to the on-campus dumpsters as needed, and allocate forklift to load the dumpsters onto a 16' flatbed truck to haul to Lubbock's recycling center. • Our group's pilot project will provide a reasonable estimate for how often the bins should be emptied from each building, and "scale up" the volume of recyclables collected from pilot project buildings
Cost Audit • Our group will conduct a cost audit to determine the cost of the recycling program and whether or not a full scale recycling program is financially feasible for TTU • Funding the program is another consideration: our group will evaluate which federal, state, municipal and private grants this recycling program at TTU may qualify for.
Time Frame • Two weeks for the trash audit • Four weeks for the pilot project • Two weeks for the cost audit • Two weeks for interviews and outside research • TOTAL: Ten weeks • 8 hrs a day,5 days a week, 10 weeks= 400 hrs
Budget • Consulting fee: $75 an hr (Smith, 2006) 400hrs x $75= $30,000 • Materials and Misc.: $1000 • TOTAL COST: $31,000
Qualifications • Thomas Arce : – Introduction to Technical Writing ENGL 2311 – Recycles at workplace (Car Dealership) • John Gottula: – Introduction to Technical Writing ENGL 2311 – Introduction to Sales AAEC 3305 – Four years Sales Experience – Marketing Internship – Actively involved in composting • Laura Gottschalk : – Introduction to Technical Writing ENGL 2311 – Professional Business Report Writing ENGL 3365 • Marie Smyth: – Introduction to Technical Writing ENGL 2311 – Biology I BIOL 1403 – Recycles at Home
Recommend
More recommend
