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The Indiana Daily Student

RPS blitz aims to teach students how to recycle

Student volunteers confronted their peers with the truth about recyclables during the Recycling Blitz on Tuesday.

As part of SustainIU Week, the Office of Sustainability hosted the Blitz in the Residential Programs and Services dining courts at Wright Quad and Gresham Food Court at ?Foster Quad.

Volunteers at each trash station deterred wasteful habits with a simple phrase — “Can I help you recycle ?today?”

Steve Akers, RPS associate director for environmental operations, said they stressed peer interaction to demonstrate the importance of recycling.

“They’ll be assisting diners, making sure they understand what is waste, what is recyclable and where it goes,” he said.

Mimi Zakem, intern for the Office of Sustainability and No Waste program coordinator, said student volunteers were vital.

“It’s a lot about influence,” she said. “People tend to listen to people like them.”

Before her volunteer shift at 6 p.m. at Wright, Zakem said the Recycling Blitz seemed to reach a lot of people, many of whom were receptive to the ?information.

“Doing it definitely demonstrates the need for it,” she said.

Zakem said the fundamental rules of recycling are simple; it’s up to students to take the ?initiative to learn them.

Some common misconceptions surround mixed materials, Zakem said, such as the Coca-Cola fountain drink cups with a paper outer layer and waxy inner coating.

“It sounds complicated, but it’s just like paper is recyclable, plastic is recyclable, mixtures are not,” she said. “If you can learn these rules of thumb, it can be really quick and easy.”

The Recycling Blitzes, which have taken place the past five years, are effective in reducing the number of students that are unaware of what to recycle or do not make it a priority, Akers said.

Freshman Seung Jang said the Recycling Blitz made him more aware of his contribution to the sustainability effort.

“I didn’t know how to recycle,” he said. “I just wanted to throw everything in the landfill.”

Akers said this awareness leads to a more concentrated effort by students to make ?sustainability a priority.

“They’re here at this gigantic IU with 44,000 students, and they see that the department and students are paying attention to recycling and waste to make sure that the waste and recycling is going to the right place,” Akers said. “It’s important enough that we’re paying attention to it.”

However, Akers said the importance of recycling goes far beyond the IU campus.

“It’s important that each one of us pay attention to our carbon footprint and how it impacts the campus and how it affects Bloomington and how it affects Monroe ?County,” he said.

Beyond SustainIU Week, Akers said RPS constantly works to promote environmental awareness.

Akers said the labeling of waste bins with larger decals facilitates recycling consciousness. After crossing over to larger decals, Akers said the recycling stream is 100 percent pure recyclables, and the waste stream is between 80 and 90 percent pure waste products.

There is a possibility of a compost bin that includes leftover food and compostable dining ware, as well, ?Akers said.

Ultimately, Akers said, the objective of the Blitz was to send less waste to the landfill.

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