Materials in the following recycling dumpsters were all recently sent to a landfill because they were contaminated, meaning they had a lot trash in them that can’t be recycled:
- Graham Hall
- Woodstock Village (middle can)
- Riverside Apartments
- Hamlin House (2nd Can)
- Peyton Hall
Please watch this 1-minute video on 5 tips for better recycling or reach out to the ISE with any recycling questions. The ISE is working with Casella to reduce Clarkson’s recycling contamination rate. We will be developing short trainings for faculty, staff, and students. Casella will also be providing funding to the ISE to hire a sustainable solid waste intern to help correct this issue.
Some thoughts: I’ve often heard the argument that, “it doesn’t matter which bin you use because either the custodians or the Casella truck drivers will send it all to the same place.” What’s really happening is that the custodial staff and the Casella truck drivers are often the only ones who understand how to recycle. We are throwing landfill trash into the recycling bins and then the custodians see the contamination and send it all to the landfill dumpster. The cycle continues when consumers see them do that. Put another way – the residential recycling dumpsters are much more often rejected than the academic recycling dumpsters because students fill the residential dumpsters but custodial staff fill the academic dumpsters at which point they’ve already corrected our mistakes.
Most of us think we recycle correctly but we don’t. I call Casella every 6 months or so and find out that the rules of what is or is not accepted have slightly changed. It’s a moving target. It’s based on fluctuating international markets. Please watch this 1-minute video about how to recycle with Casella. Alternatively, if you’d like to understand a little about how recycling markets are changing and why contamination rates are significant then please check out this 5-minute video.
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