Policies and Procedures SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT(S): RECYCLING Plant Operations and Facilities Planning & Construction PURPOSE: Lafayette College is a residential, liberal arts and engineering institution of higher education committed to providing the highest quality living and educational experience possible for our students, faculty, staff and invited guests. The College is committed to the concept of waste minimization and the conservation of all materials and supplies in accordance with all national, state, and local laws and ordinances and beyond. The College supports the active involvement of all campus constituencies in order to satisfy the environmental goals of waste minimization, material conservation and recycling. The College understands its responsibility as a corporate citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Easton to protect and preserve the environment. In concert with this responsibility the College intends that students, faculty, staff and visitors shall respect and uphold the College s policies on recycling. Lafayette College has a comprehensive goal to become an institutional leader in environmental stewardship. The College s partners in this mission are the students, LEAP and SEES (student led environmental organizations), the faculty, the Campus Sustainability Committee, Plant Operations and the Department of Facilities Planning & Construction. There is an established Office of Campus Sustainability which seeks to provide assistance for the implementation of sustainable actions, policies, and dialogue to further Lafayette College s sustainable goals. In January 2008, the College President signed the Presidents Climate Commitment: Campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating Sustainability into their curriculum will better serve their students and meet their mandate to help create a thriving, ethical, and civil society. RECYCLED PRODUCTS: The College recycles glass containers, food and beverage cans, newspapers, plastic food and beverage containers, electronics (consumer, appliances and computers), white paper, cardboard, ink/toner cartridges, writing instruments and batteries. GLASS CONTAINERS should be rinsed and lids removed. You do not need to remove labels. These items can be recycled on all residence hall floors in any bin on campus marked for bottles and cans. FOOD AND BEVERAGE CANS that are made of aluminum, steel, tin, or a combination of metals should
be rinsed. These items can be recycled on all residence hall floors in any bin on campus marked for bottles and cans. NEWSPAPERS are recycled on the first floor of each residence hall in any bin marked for newspaper. Newspapers can also be recycled in various academic buildings and in the Farinon Student Center in the small blue bins labeled newspaper. PLASTIC FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTAINERS include plastics #1 through #7 excluding #6. Examples of acceptable items include soda bottles, milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles. These items are recycled on all residence hall floors in any bin on campus marked for bottles and cans. CONSUMER ELECTRONICS are recycled each year at the Electronics Recycling Day hosted by the Lafayette Sustainability Committee. This usually takes place in the Spring Semester around Earth Week. Details are sent through campus wide emails. Additionally, the College s IT Department recycles equipment every year: for information regarding College owned computers please see its.lafayette.edu/about/policies/recycling. PAPER white paper only; colored or glossy not currently recycled. You may leave in staples and paper printed with colored ink are acceptable. These items are recycled in blue bins located in all residence halls, academic and administrative buildings. CARDBOARD is recycled at central pick up locations: Acopian Engineering Center (north side or Dana Labs); Farinon College Center and Marquis Hall loading docks. Please break down boxes so that they lay flat. USED INK/TONER CARTRIDGES are recycled by using the prepaid, recycling package and can be deposited at the nearest overnight delivery drop box. Additionally, Office Depot provides drop boxes and collection of full boxes of recycled cartridges/toners. Drop boxes are located at Farinon Student Center, Markle Hall Administrative Offices and Skillman Library. BATTERIES are recycled at the following locations: 201 Kirby Hall, 237 Kirby Sports Center, 132 Farinon Student Center, 308 Kunkel Hall, 116 Van Wickle Hall and 239 William Center for the Arts. For more information, please call extension 5374. WRITING INSTRUMENTS are recycled in Residence Halls in boxes specially labeled with a TerraCycle sticker. When full, contact the Office Coordinator in Facilities Planning & Construction at extension 5374. Full boxes are mailed back to Office Depot using a downloaded label from their website. NOT RECYCLED: The following items are not recycled: pizza boxes, Styrofoam, plastic bowls and plates, paper towels and tissues. COMPOSTING: Three Earth Tubs and composters are installed at Pierce and Bushkill Streets. The compost is used by the Campus Grounds Crew and in the community gardens. 2 Page Recycling Policy 2/22/2011
RECYCLING IN DINING SERVICES: The following products are used in Dining Services: greenware cups made from corn starch, compostable hot cups, to go containers, compostable trash bags, biodegradable containers for Smart Market s items and catering supplies. There is a pulper unit employed in the dish line. Water stations are located in each unit which reduce bottle water consumption and promote using reusable containers. Free reusable beverage containers are provided to first year students. Fresh produce is served to reduce packaging on frozen produce. GREEN MOVE IN: Cardboard will be picked up from residence halls on move in day. GREEN MOVE OUT: Furniture and other articles left behind are donated to non profit organizations. RESPONSIBILITY and MONITORING: The Department of Plant Operations serves as the primary point of coordination for the recycling program in conjunction with the Manager of Sustainability and Environmental Planning. The Lafayette College Sustainability Committee meets eight times a year. The committee is composed of 4 faculty, 4 students and 3 administration members. Members review Sustainability proposals and if the project meets the 3 Pillars of Sustainability, provide approval and funding. COMMUNICATIONS Information on the College s recycling program is distributed to all administrative offices. New Student Orientation packages include A Guide to Recycling brochure. WEBSITE The College s Recycling website, written and maintained by the Facilities Planning & Construction, is located at http://facilitiesplanning.lafayette.edu/sustainability/csi/recycling/. The A Guide to Recycling is available at http://facilitiesplanning.lafayette.edu/files/2010/06/recyclingbrochureupdated.pdf. For hard copies, contact sustainability@lafayette.edu. RECYCLING POLICIES DESCRIBED BY CAMPUS LOCATION RESIDENCE HALLS Each student is responsible for recycling glass containers, food and beverage cans, newspapers, plastic food and beverage containers, electronics, white paper, cardboard, ink/toner cartridges, writing instruments and batteries. Each residence hall floor shall have a recycling container paired with a trashcan at several locations, which shall be used to collect all aluminum cans, all glass bottles, and all plastic, excluding #6 and garbage. Custodians in each hall shall remove the containers when full and take the contents to the central storage container for that building. Clear or white collection bags will be used in all recycling containers, in contrast to the black bags used in trashcans. Each student shall collect white paper in a container provided by the student and bring the recycled high grade office paper to a central storage container for that building. 3 Page Recycling Policy 2/22/2011
FRATERNITY HOUSES Students living in fraternity houses shall follow the guidelines for recycling as described above for residence halls, except that recyclable bottles and cans will be collected in a central location with recycled paper products. Plant Operations will then collect these at reasonable intervals. EDUCATIONAL AND GENERAL FACILITIES OFFICES Each office shall recycle white paper by placing the paper in proper containers. The office custodian shall collect the recycled paper and bring it to a central storage location for the building. Aluminum cans, glass bottles, and plastic bottles shall be placed in the nearest public recycling container. CLASSROOMS Each classroom shall recycle white paper by placing the paper in the nearest public container. The office custodian shall collect the recycled paper and bring it to the central storage location for the building. Aluminum cans, glass bottles, and plastic bottles shall be placed in the nearest public recycling container. MISCELLANEOUS AREAS Copy Rooms A paper recycling container shall be placed in every copy room. The office custodian shall collect the recycled paper and bring it to the central storage location for the building. Vending Areas A recycling container paired with a trashcan, shall be placed in every vending area for the collection of glass, plastic, and aluminum. The building custodian shall collect the collected materials and bring them to the central storage location for the building. Food Service Facilities The food service organization shall recycle cardboard and shall be responsible for bundling the cardboard and notifying the recycling vendor to pick up the material for Farinon Student Center, Marquis, and Gilbert s. A bottle/can recycling container paired with a trashcan, will be placed in these locations for use by food service. The food service organization will be responsible for bringing these materials to the central storage location for the building. Farinon College Center The Farinon College Center shall provide a container for mixed office paper on the ground floor near the post office. Farinon Center offices shall recycle high grade office paper and place it in the nearest public container. The custodian shall be responsible for notifying the vendor when it is time to pick up the central container. Occupants and visitors to Farinon Center shall recycle glass bottles, aluminum cans and plastic bottles by placing these items into the nearest public containers. The custodians shall remove the contents and bring the material to the central building storage area. All occupants of Farinon College Center will bundle their own cardboard and bring it to the central storage location for the building. A newspaper recycling container will be placed in an accessible location in the College Center and will be visibly different from other containers. The custodian will be responsible for notifying the vendor to pick up the material. All recycling containers are paired with a trashcan both types clearly marked. Gilbert s A newspaper recycling container will be placed in Gilbert s. The custodian will be responsible for notifying the vendor to pick up the material. A bottle/can recycling container will be placed in the customer area of the facility as long as plastic #1 and #2, glass, aluminum, or steel are distributed in the facility. All recycling containers are paired with a trashcan both types clearly marked. 4 Page Recycling Policy 2/22/2011
Skillman Library A newspaper recycling container and cardboard container will be placed in Skillman. The custodian will be responsible for notifying the vendor to pick up the material. Plant Operations will recycle cardboard and shall be responsible for bundling the cardboard and notifying the recycling vendor to pick up the material. Plant Operations is also responsible for the recycling (and/or proper disposal) of all materials/waste resulting from their maintenance activities. Central Building Storage Locations The custodian in the area of the central storage location is responsible for monitoring this central storage container and calling the vendor or arranging transportation of the material to the vendor pickup site when the container is full. The Quad, Metzgar Fields and Outdoor Areas A clearly identifiable bottle/can recycling receptacle shall be placed next to other trashcans on the campus grounds. These receptacles shall differ in appearance from the existing trashcans and will have recycling lids. Recycling receptacles shall be utilized during special campus events, e.g. family weekend, homecoming, commencement, athletic contests, etc. RESOURCE CONSERVATION (ENERGY, WATER AND RECYCLING) Turn off your PC and TV when not in use Refill a reusable water bottle If possible, set your photocopiers and printers to print double sided Use electronic files where possible instead of paper files Reduce unsolicited junk mail find out how by visiting: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/reducewaste/business/officepaper/mailreduce.htm Buy recycled items Use the cold water cycle for laundry Store leftover food in reusable containers Buy fresh and local to reduce the amount of transporting and packaging Reuse plastic bags or bring your own cloth bag to the grocery store Turn off lights when leaving a room Turn the heat down or air conditioning up a few degrees Avoid using the dishwasher s dry cycle Ensure dishwasher or washing machine is full before running Don t run the water while brushing your teeth Get involved with the College s Recycling Program Review the Lafayette College Energy Policy available at: http://facilitiesplanning.lafayette.edu/files/2009/10/lc Energy Policies.pdf 5 Page Recycling Policy 2/22/2011