IMU promotes going green with new recycling bins

The Indiana Memorial Union is going green.\nHoping to catch up with the University in becoming more invested in recycling and sustainability, the IMU added recycling bins to its kitchens last week.\nPreviously, staff put the recycling into a compactor, but the compactor has been running out of room, said IMU Dining Services General Manager Steve Mangan and Custodial Manager Roy Robertson.\nMangan and Robertson brainstormed ideas before deciding to put the bins in the kitchen. They said people had been asking them to help as much as they could with the recycling in the building.\n“We just brought them in for the first week,” Mangan said. “We’re just getting used to them.”\nThe IMU has been recycling items such as cardboard, cans and newspaper for some time, Robertson said. But recycling is a costly effort, he said, and the IMU pays companies to remove the materials from the building.\n“The University has been paying for a long time for glass and plastics to be recycled,” Robertson said.\nMangan said the IMU also tries to come up with ways to deal with trash that can’t be recycled.\n“We also are looking to reduce wet waste,” he said. “We’re looking for someone local to haul away our compact waste because there is so much of it being produced on a regular basis.”\nThe IMU is looking into more sustainable efforts, including safer cleaning products and using local vendors for anything the IMU may need, Mangan said.\n“We are about staying ahead of the curve.” he said.\nRobertson and Mangan are also looking to reduce utility costs by using compact fluorescent lighting in rooms in the IMU. Even vendors are trying to reduce the amount of packaging waste they use, Mangan said. \n“Recycling has to be easy for everyone,” he said. “If it’s complicated, it won’t happen.”\nIMU employees, such as Sugar and Spice employee John Reynolds, believe in the recycling effort. Sugar and Spice features a red bin and black top that says “plastics” on it.\n“We’re really excited,” Reynolds said. “I’ve worked here for two years and we’ve been waiting for something like this.” \nSugar and Spice employee Suzette May said she’s glad the IMU is offering more recycling options.\n“We go through 50 to 60 bottles just in our store a day, so I can’t imagine the bigger places in the Union,” she said. \nMangan and Robertson said right now they are just looking to make sure the recycling program is successful, but are open to other possibilities in the future to help the recycling effort.\n“We’re just trying to do the right thing,” Mangan said.