The University of Notre Dame has launched a series of initiatives to improve the recycling habits of the campus community, including a new program on home football Saturdays and the implementation of a single stream recycling system.
Under the sloganIts easy beingreen at ND,the enhancements to recycling at Notre Dame are a collaborative effort among students, faculty, staff and administrators.
In September, nearly 100 student volunteers started a new program in the library parking lot called Game Day Recycling, which focuses on providing recycling opportunities for fans on Notre Dame home football weekends. Some 1,200 pounds of material for recycling were collected on the day of the Michigan State game (Sept. 22), and an additional 784 pounds were collected for the Boston College game (Oct. 13).
We found this program to be a huge success,said Amy Amoni, director of project management for business operations.We plan to continue the program throughout the remainder of the season and will try out various techniques to encourage recycling. We are also expanding our efforts to include placing containers at different locations across campus, such as outside the Joyce Center, on the Fieldhouse Mall and near the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore.
Other efforts to improve campus sustainability at Notre Dame include participating in Recyclemania, a nationwide competition for colleges this spring; increasing the number of recycling bins in residence halls and administrative offices; and continuing to develop its food service environmental improvement program.
The Universitys recycling program, known asRecyclinIrish,was created in 1990.In its first year, 133,000 pounds of aluminum, newspaper, glass and plastic were collected and recycled. In 2006, Notre Dame recycled 61 percent of its solid waste and 13.7 million pounds of waste as RecyclinIrish has expanded to now include wood, mixed metals, mixed paper, magazines, corrugated cardboard, compost and boiler ash.
The University switched to a single stream recycling system in the summer, signifying a substantial upgrade in the ease and availability of opportunities for recycling on campus.Until this year, campus recyclables had to be sorted and disposed of separately, depending on particular materials. The new single stream system allows the intermingling of paper, plastic and other mixed recyclables in one container.
Additional information on University efforts to boost recycling and improve campus sustainability is available at http://green.nd.edu on the Web.
_ Contact: Amy Amoni, business operations, 574-631-8885,_ " amyamoni@nd.edu ":mailto:amyamoni@nd.edu
TopicID: 24966