Keep your junk off the curb
Mariah Yates, posted April 18, 2007
It has been a long week — and it is only Wednesday. You still have to take the trash to the curb for the early Thursday morning pickup. You are tired, you have a million other things to do. Go ahead, just dump everything in those bags and unload your waste on the curb outside the apartment.
It is so tempting just to drag your four large black bags of trash to the curb. In today’s technologically advanced world — seize a new opportunity this Wednesday night. A simple and eco-friendly solution to dumping every last bottle, box and moldy Mac n’ Cheese awaits you.
How can you, a mere college student, turn your four large trash bags into one small bag? The City of Columbia, University of Missouri and Sustain Mizzou will come to the rescue. Just take a minute to do your research and accept the challenge and responsibility for your waste.
Columbia residents receive a set of 18 blue recycling bags in April, August and December. Acceptable products for these bags are #1 and #2 plastics, glass, aluminum cans and metal food cans. Get an extra trashcan to hold these items, and store it in a closet near the kitchen. Carry these full blue bags to the curb with your regular trash collection.
To recycle paper products in your apartment, use boxes or paper bags to hold other paper goods. Fiber materials can be taken to the curb in a box, paper bag or bundled.
If you run out of blue bags before the next set arrives, don’t take it as your cue to stop recycling. Drop-off Container Recycling is at seven locations throughout Columbia.
Should you have any hazardous waste such as batteries or paint, keep the Household Hazardous Waste Collection facility in mind. The city facility is open on the first and third Saturdays from April to November. You’ll find it located at 1313 Lakeview Ave.
If you live in an apartment complex, check the recycling day schedule on the city of Columbia Web site by searching for recycling. Here you will also find information on hazardous waste specifications. You should at least be down to two bags of trash by now. How can you knockout one more? Think creatively. Sophomore biology major, Ben Datema, always asks himself, “How can I reuse this?” Datema reuses a variety of containers for growing plants.
Datema is president of Sustain Mizzou. This group of students can be seen collecting recycling at football game day tailgates and cleaning up Hinkson creek. The Tiger Tailgate Recycling program saved 19 tons of material from landfills during the 2006 football season.
If you are interested in attending a Sustain Mizzou meeting or simply want to be in the loop on local recycling, visit Sustain Mizzou’s booth in Brady Commons from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Wednesday.
You can also sign-up for their e-mail listserv, which currently has more than 325 members. Visit the Sustain Mizzou Web site for information about events and contact information.
While you are on campus, it is easy to look for the nearest trashcan to dump your soda bottles. Recycling bins, however, are fewer and farther between.
According to Steve Burdic, MU Solid Waste and Recycling coordinator, they are “working on a pilot program in the General Classroom Building to make recycling more accessible.” If the program is successful, then students can expect to see more recycling stations for presorting newspapers, bottles and cans.
Figures from the MU Solid Waste Audit estimate that 7,293 tons of trash is collected annually, which equals 32,000 pounds per day. Of that waste, 1,919 tons is recycled to compose 26 percent of our total campus waste. “I would like to see that figure double,” Burdic said. It is possible — on a daily basis, 8,700 pounds (four tons) of materials could be recycled.
If you are still not motivated to save your bottle until you find a recycling bin, then consider the financial costs to all of us. The report also states that MU saves $103,000 annually in hauling and disposal costs. That is a significant cost savings to you.
With a little more thought and preparation, next week you may have one black bag, one blue bag and one paper sack of fiber materials to drag to the curb. It still might take more than one trip to the curb, but you will feel better about the time spent on getting rid of your waste.
