Ryan ChartrandIn recent years, recycling has become an important part in city waste management programs to help protect our earth. Despite the millions of dollars spent by governments and corporations in efforts to increase public awareness of recycling, there remains a lack of general public understanding. There is a great deal of controversy over how the reprocessing of certain materials impacts the environment. Knowledge of which materials are actually recyclable is also an issue.
The merits of many recycling practices are frequently questioned by the public as well as industry insiders. Although topics of debate are numerous and widely varied, the crux of the issue is and has always been the lack of understanding of recycling technology.
Television and print ad campaigns often paint a picture of recycling as a silver bullet solution to energy and waste management problems. While this makes companies that recycle look very good, it does not do a whole lot to educate the public on what it actually means to recycle.
In spite of its image as the magical solution to the world’s environmental problems, a lot needs to happen in order for recycling to make sense. It is a production process and just like any other production process, it must be carried out with a certain level of efficiency if it is to be financially viable and environmentally beneficial.
Common criticisms of recycling include that it sometimes requires more energy to recycle a product than to manufacture a new one. Detractors point out that although recycling paper can reduce the number of trees that must be destroyed, a large amount of energy is used in the paper recycling process. Since an extra truck must be sent to homes to collect waste-paper, and since time and energy are required to sort paper, some say that recycling it does not make sense. It is true that paper recycling is an energy intensive process. If, however, it is conducted in an efficient way, it will save money and energy in the long run.
As recycling efforts increase and practices become more routine, recycling will continue to pay off more and more. Every consumer can also aid in making the recycling process efficient and effective by understanding which materials can be recycled and how each person can help to ensure that recycling has a positive impact on the world around us.
Cal Poly Facilities maintains a list on their website of materials that can be recycled from the recycling bins around campus. Waxed containers such as milk cartons, for example, cannot be recycled on campus. Carbon paper, tissues and paper towels also are not recyclable on campus. Most other drink containers, with the exception of those made of Styrofoam, can be placed in the bins on campus. It is a good idea to clean them out before throwing them in the bin. Newspaper, printer paper and filler paper can be recycled. Staples can be recycled with paper as can envelopes with windows. For more information, visit the Cal Poly Facilities Web site and navigate to the recycling program web page. Knowing what can and cannot be recycled can help the whole process to run much more smoothly. Please, do your part and educate yourself about recycling.
Matt Hutton is a fourth year environmental engineer and Mustang Daily Online columnist