UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 5, Page 2                                
October 1, 1992                                                
Recycling success: Campus program expands scope                
                                                               
     Wait! Before you throw away that box of outdated brochures, pitch        
that packet of bulletins or discard that data printout, consider your
options.                                                             
     You can join the thousands of people on campus who combined to  
recycle more than 100 tons of otherwise landfill-bound materials     
during the first seven months of University-wide recycling.          
     Roger K. Bowman, grounds supervisor for Plant Operations and    
University recycling program coordinator, said faculty, staff and    
students on the Newark campus combined to collect 47 tons of         
corrugated cardboard, 53 tons of white and commingled paper, 12 tons 
of glass, 16 tons of plastic and five tons of aluminum and bi-metal  
cans between February and August.                                    
     The average amount of solid waste removed from campus each year 
is about 3,300 tons, he said.                                        
     "Overall, I've been pleased with the progress we've made," Bowman  
said. "I'm looking forward to a better year with respect to          
participation and the reduction of contamination, or trash, in the   
recycling stream."                                                   
     The amount of rubbish in the recycling stream has been slowly   
decreasing, but the start of the academic year adds some uncertainty 
to that trend, Bowman said. The University must pay its recycling    
contractor for the disposal of garbage that is included in recycling 
containers, making proper disposal particularly important, he added. 
     "We're not looking, at this time, to make money on the program,"
Bowman explained. "The economy of recycling has not reached the point
where there is a lot of demand for recycled products. It's really a  
supply-driven economy. Hopefully, by the middle of the 1990s, as     
additional processing facilities come on line and as consumers demand
more recycled materials, that will begin to change."                 
     Bowman said landfill space would be more plentiful if there were   
less consumption and more reuse. Until people make such changes,     
however, recycling is the best way to conserve resources, he said.   
     In keeping with the University's efforts to conserve, Bowman    
announced new elements of the recycling program.                     
     Early this month, six new recycling igloo sites will open across
campus- two at the Christiana Towers and one in each of the following
areas: the Rodney Complex, the Dickinson Complex, South-Central campus        
and the Gilbert Complex.                                             
     The igloos will allow students to recycle clear and colored     
glass, aluminum cans, plastic and newspapers. Igloos already in place
around campus include those behind Newark Hall; near the tennis courts        
by the Rodney Complex; in the Hollingsworth Building parking lot; and
near the Christiana West Tower in a grassy island in the parking lot.
     Later this semester, the recycling of commingled paper, which      
includes colored paper and fascimile paper, will begin at those      
locations where only white paper is now accepted.                    
     Blue plastic file folders with the word "recycle" imprinted on  
them will be distributed to employees at seven locations, including  
Smith Hall, the General Services Building, Morris Library and Hullihen        
Hall, he said.                                                       
     The folders can be kept on a desk, filled over time and emptied 
into a central office bin for removal by custodians.                 
     The blue recycling containers introduced last spring, and       
currently used for white paper, will then be used for colored and    
fascimile paper, Bowman explained.                                   
     If the addition of commingled paper recycling to those areas goes        
well, he said, the recycling effort will be turned toward recycling  
white paper where only commingled paper is now collected.            
     Bowman also said locks were placed on the large blue recycling     
bins around campus in August. He said the measure was taken to prevent        
passers-by from dumping their loose items.                           
     The University also will take over the collection of aluminum   
cans this semester, he said. Currently, student groups do the job, but        
they have become overwhelmed with the demand for their services.     
     The change will add some revenue to the University's recycling  
drive, since contractors will pay for aluminum.                      
     Bowman would like to encourage anyone with questions about      
recycling, like whether it's possible to recycle that huge box of    
outdated brochures or bulletins you found in the storage closet, to  
contact him via electronic mail (MVS@ recycle) or by telephone at    
831-2624.                                                            
                                        -Stephen M. Steenkamer