Auraria Responsible Recycling Initiative · Auraria Responsible Recycling Initiative - Final...

A.R.R.I.

Auraria Responsible Recycling Initiative

Cultivating a motivated and proficient

recycling community on campus.

Final Presentation by

Kristen Morrison

Stephanie Vecchiarelli

Kristen Morrison & Stephanie VecchairelliAuraria Responsible Recycling Initiative - Final Presentation

How can we improve the recycling landscape, while reducing waste contamination on the Auraria Campus?


Design Intervention Education Intervention



Old Research Question: New Research Question:

How can we actively engage Auraria Campus Students in the education and proper use of recycling resources?


– Broad focus on student engagement and goal of proper use of recycling resources.

– Focused on reducing waste contamination.


Objectives: The purpose is to educate and visually stimulate the use of Auraria campus’ recycling resources. We would like to promote a better understanding of what recycling resources are available to students on campus. We want to prevent items from being disposed of into improper containers to reduce contamination.


Audience: The main audience includes students from a tri-institutional campus that ranges in age, gender, and ethnicity. Our location for implementation of the educational class and visual support will occur campus-wide and available to all students.


Education Intervention

1050 Environmental Conservation For Non-majors

Natural and Physical Sciences (3 credit hours)


Toolkit Takeaway

Toolkit participants who recycled at home scored better on the Toolkit.

Most participants said they would like increased recycling/composting disposal education.

There was some expressed confusion when it came to properly composting materials.

Very few had heard of the SCP before participating in the toolkit.

Subway Bag

Subway Wrapper

Subway Napkin

Subway Cup (plastic)

Subway Cup (wax)

Taco Bell Wrapper

Taco Bell Box

Taco Bell Bag

McDonalds Wrapper

McDonalds Bag

McDonalds Burger Box

McDonalds French Fry

Pizza Box

McDonalds Cup (wax)

McDonalds cup (plastic)Plastic Salad Container

Taco Bell Cup (plastic)

Taco Bell Sauce

Sandwhich Bag

McDonalds WrapperMcDonalds Bag McDonalds Burger Box

McDonalds French Fry

Pizza Box

McDonalds Cup (wax) McDonalds cup (plastic) Plastic Salad Container

McDonalds WrapperMcDonalds Bag

McDonalds Burger BoxMcDonalds French Fry

Pizza Box McDonalds Cup (wax)McDonalds cup (plastic)

Plastic Salad Container

Glass BottleSoda Can

Plastic Water BottleNewspaper

Aluminum Foil

Potato Chip BagPlastic Silverware Plastic To-Go Container

Co�ee Cup

Paper Stack

Eco Cup

Apple

Granola Bar WrapperTwix Wrapper

Einstein Bagel BoxEinstein Bagel Bag

Auraria Responsible Recycling Initiative

Survey Questions

How old are you?

What institution do you attend?

CCD

MSU UCD

Why do you, or why do you not recycle?

How o� en do you recycle?

100% of the time

75% of the time

50% of the time

25% of the time

0% of the time

Do you recycle while on campus?

Yes

No

Do you recycle while at home?

Yes

No

Rate and circle your knowledge of recycling in terms of proper

disposal methods?

1 2

3

4

5

Poor

Average

Excellent

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

6

6

7

7

8

8

9

9

10

10

TOTAL

TOTAL

Player 1

Player 1

ROUND:

ROUND:

Player 2

Player 2

Player 3

Player 3

Player 4

Player 4

#

#

#

#

#

#

#

#


Interview Takeaway

Emphasis on the issue of contamination.

People respond best to direct/hands on interaction when it comes to education.

The idea of students coming together.

A classroom setting would be the perfect place to launch SCP awareness.

Auraria Campus Recycling



01

03

04

02Auraria Campus Recycling

So twenty-�ve percent of everything that uhm, twenty-�ve percent of

everything that goes to the land�ll has been kept out through the

recycling and compost that uhm, that number �uctuates.

So we have a lot of information, uhm, really bene�cial information from

all that uhm, all the audits. We haven’t, there’s a whole lot that we could

do uhm, as a response to those, I guess, but really what it helps us do is

identify where the most contamination is coming from. A lot of it

comes from vendors, a lot of it comes from you know confusion on

some of the materials. And then we have social media, we’re really trying to build up our web

presence uhm, our website and a direct call to action and a form on our

website where anybody can submit a project and uhm if you have any

ideas.

There were sixty-one thousand pounds of, uhm, compost diverted from

the land�ll and there was somewhere close to a million pounds of

recycling. So just to put it into context, there’s a whole lot more

recycling that gets diverted than compost.

Twenty-�ve percent

61,000 lbs. of compost diverted

from the land�ll

Identify where the most contamination is coming from

Where anybody can submit a project

05

06

07

08





Yeah so, signage is a big thing, obviously we’re always trying to work

with our signage and how we actually you know let people know

what’s available to them, you know through the three bin systems

particularly.

Uhm, it’s an ongoing challenge cause people just get confused a lot of

the time and you know contamination is like our biggest hurdle. Uhm,

we’re always trying to think about how we can, you know make the

signs more clear, but signage is a big thing.

Yeah, so it tends to be, uh, I mean plastic is the biggest, plastic bags

actually are the biggest uh, contaminate in all of our systems. Uhm,

and smaller items tend to get people pretty hung up so, like little chip

bags or condiment packages. Things like that, we see a lot of that

without because I think people just don’t know where to put that type

of thing.

Let people know what’s

available to them

Contamination is like our biggest hurdle

People just don’t know where to put

that type of thingA lot of those campuses have a group of students who come together

to be like the zero waste team or something like that and [Recorder

Glitch] more organized student body just for actually being like on the

ground, looking at this stu� all the time, eyes on it more regularly.

Students who come together

There’s no reason why there shouldn’t

be compost bins there09

10

11

12





events are a great opportunity to do direct education but only if you

have people manning the stations. Basically somebody there to say

nope that’s trash or th

at’s compost. Uhm people learn a lot fro

m that

kind of like direct in

teraction and so I think if w

e built up some kind of

a better zero waste [Recorder Glitch] management plan for events that

would be good and to have volunteers to help out with that.

get our vendors on board, uhm, cause our vendors introduce items all

the time that are land�ll only, and I th

ink students are looking for items

that can be recycled, they’re, you know, th

ey’re aware of it and they

want to put something in the recycling . . .

being a little bit m

ore

mindful of the materials they bring.

reevaluating our visuals, like our signs, so making sure they re�ect th

e

materials that we actually have on campus, and uhm that they make

sense to everybody.

People learn a lot from that kind of

direct interaction

Get venders on board

Reevaluateing our visualsworking with other departm

ents throughout campus I think is sort o

f

the next step like identifying places where there is a lot of fo

od. For

instance, over in uh, I th

ink it is the North Classroom where the simply

fresh market is? Yeah, like that would be a great place because all th

eir

stu� is compostable, there’s no reason why there shouldn’t b

e

compost bins there.

17

18



a lot of universities have like a zero waste team dedicated to this stu�,

uhm, they are really just taking ownership of it and I think it’s a little bit

di�cult at Auraria at least because I’m the only full time sta� and I

have a whole lot of other stu� on my plate and I just don’t have the

capacity to do the kind of ground work, hands on, eyes on the ground,

uhm, and I think that is really essential.(Kristen) I did some research on CSU and they also participate in like a

competition, and I can’t remember the name of it, but I was wondering

if we would ever consider doing something like that, I think it would

be cool. (Elizabeth) Yeah, I de�nitely, I think if you can build up . . .

(Kristen) . . . a motivation . . . (Elizabeth) Yeah, more than like doing the

right thing, if you can make it fun and more interactive.

Make it fun and more interactive

Elizabeth needs some help

13

14

15

16





And then, yeah, more student involvement too, and I, you know, it’s

hard to say too because it needs to be organic too, I think the most

e�ective student groups uhm you know it’s their idea and they come

to the table with it rather than AHEC coming and saying, hey you

should form a student group, so uhm, but if there is anything that

AHEC can do to to encourage that I think that would help too.

and I think we could get more stringent on those, uhm, just say like as

a campus, we’re committed to, you know, reducing our waste, and

because of that, if you’re going to be a vendor, here’s some, yeah, some

guidelines. So, we’ll get there though, it’s a process. [Laughs from all]

I would be really interested to talk to other parts of campus that

maybe has a little less interaction with the Tivoli or, uhm, . . . and

talking to them about what their kind of vision is for their waste

management or recycling initiatives . . . they use di�erent waste

haulers, . . . we don’t, we just don’t have the same information

available to us, so that would be a way to deepen the picture of

like the whole campus.

Vendor Guidelines

More organic student involvement

Deepen the picture of

the whole campus I’m just curious, anybody in this room not know about the SCP before

this? Did most people know about the SCP? Oh, most people did not

know about the SCP? [Interruption] Oh yeah, that’s just really good

feedback for us to hear.

Most people did not know

about the SCP

05

0607

08





Yeah so, signage is a big thing, obviously we’re always trying to work

with our signage and how we actually you know let people know

what’s available to them, you know through the three bin systems

particularly.

Uhm, it’s an ongoing challenge cause people just get confused a lot of

the time and you know contamination is like our biggest hurdle. Uhm,

we’re always trying to think about how we can, you know make the

signs more clear, but signage is a big thing.

Yeah, so it tends to be, uh, I mean plastic is the biggest, plastic bags

actually are the biggest uh, contaminate in all of our systems. Uhm,

and smaller items tend to get people pretty hung up so, like little chip

bags or condiment packages. Things like that, we see a lot of that

without because I think people just don’t know where to put that type

of thing.

Let people know what’s

available to them


People just don’t know where to put

that type of thing

A lot of those campuses have a group of students who come together

to be like the zero waste team or something like that and [Recorder

Glitch] more organized student body just for actually being like on the

ground, looking at this stu� all the time, eyes on it more regularly.

Students who come together



Course Description

This course introduces students to environmental concepts and issues. Students will gain an understanding of the methods and techniques needed to comprehend environmental issues such as their politics, climate change, fresh water and ocean pollution, air pollution, alternative energy sources, and proper waste disposal. Students will also be responsible for a semester long waste disposal project.

Prerequisite: Minimum performance standard scores on reading and writing placement tests.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course the student should be able to:

1. Recognize how to properly dispose of specific waste materials and be able to apply those skills in and outside of the classroom. 2. Explain the process of composting, and recycling. 3. Relate the history of waste disposal and environmental issues to modern day times. 4. Think critically, and justify opinions in regards to the political landscape of environmental issues.



Field Trip

At some point during the semester, all students will take a field trip to Alpine Waste and Recycling as they are the professionals who handle all waste that comes through AHEC. This way, they can learn about the recycling and composting process once it moves out of our hands.



Collection Project

Students will be asked to collect all the recyclable materials that they use while at home, and then bring it to campus with them for storage.

While students will learn how to properly recycle the items they collect, throughout the semester, students will watch their collection of recycled materials grow, and at the end, they will get a really accurate look at how much waste just a few people can divert away from the landfill.


Observation Takeaway:

One of the earliest observations that took place in the

Tivoli (and let to the project snapshot presentation)

proved to be beneficial to support our research as a

whole.

The image examples to the right prove that recycling

intelligently on campus can be confusing at times and

often leads to contamination.

The lack of visuals on these two examples of recycling

bins on campus leads to assumption and confusion

regarding the broad term “recycle.”


Toolkit Takeaway:

Along with our toolkit recycling game previewed in class, Kristen

and I decided to use a survey as our out of class interview.

The survey results gathered from two separate toolkit games (left)

proved insightful for creating inspiration for the design solution.

We were both pleased when one student suggested implementing

more education around recycling resources on campus as well as

the second student suggesting better visual aids.

Plus, each student checked that they’d be interested in being

provided with more information in any form regarding campus

recycling resources.


11


Reevaluating our visuals, like our signs, so making sure they re�ect the materials that we actually have on campus, and uhm that they make sense to everybody.

Reevaluateing our visuals

05


Yeah so, signage is a big thing, obviously we’re always trying to work with our signage and how we actually you know let people know what’s available to them, you know through the three bin systems particularly.

Let people know what’s available to them

06


Uhm, it’s an ongoing challenge cause people just get confused a lot of the time and you know contamination is like our biggest hurdle. Uhm, we’re always trying to think about how we can, you know make the signs more clear, but signage is a big thing.


07


Yeah, so it tends to be, uh, I mean plastic is the biggest, plastic bags actually are the biggest uh, contaminate in all of our systems. Uhm, and smaller items tend to get people pretty hung up so, like little chip bags or condiment packages. Things like that, we see a lot of that without because I think people just don’t know where to put that type of thing.

People just don’t know where to put that type of thing

Interview Takeaway:

One of the most beneficial parts of the research process

for this class has been the interview summary card

assignment.

After a lengthy transcription process it was helpful to

our overall design intervention to be able to pick out key

parts of the interview.

The parts that resonate most with my design solution

was when Elizabeth talked about reevaluating visuals and

contamination being two struggles the SCP experiences

frequently.


Design Intervention: Informational Brochure

Out of the five design solutions discussed, we both chose a tri-fold

recycling informational brochure as visual representation of our

research goal.

Depicted to the left is the front page including our research title,

title of the brochure, and tagline.

The middle section of the tri-fold becomes the back of the brochure

and includes design information, SCP involvement, and preferred

method of printing.

In order to incorporate Kristen’s educational class, the left panel is

reserved for informing students of the proposed recycling class

on campus.

A.R.R.IAuraria Responsible Recycling Initiative



Auraria Campus Recycling Resource Guide

Design by Stephanie Vecchiarelli

For the

Sustainable Campus Program (SCP)

Printed on 100% recycled paper with Soy ink.

Interested in learning more about personal and campus recycling?

Register for... ENV 1050 - Environmental Conservation For Non-majors.

Learn about the many environmental

issues we struggle with globally, while

learning how you can help reduce waste

and eliminate contamination here on

campus or at home.


Design Intervention: Informational Brochure

When the user opens the brochure will be flipped to portrait layout in

order to view a large print guide to which popular items go into each

of the three specific bins.

The large text is used to help encourage a wide-range of our

audience on campus that may have vision impairment.

This brochure would be a helpful handout to both incoming and cur-

rent students that can be kept in their backpacks or folder and either

memorized or looked back upon for reference.

Designing a simple brochure for informational purposes regarding

waste management on campus will also allow for students to review

disposal guidelines on their own time with no pressure or confusion.

COMPOST

LANDFILL

RECYCLE

Food

Plastic Bags

Plastic #1-7

ECO Cups

Candy Wrappers

Paper Bags

Paper Bags

Plastic Utensils

Glass Bottles

Cardboard

Wax Lined Cups

Cardboard

Pizza Boxes

Sandwich Bags

Aluminum Foil

Fast Food Wrappers

Condiment Packages

Soda Cans

Napkins

Plastic Plates

Paper

Paper Cups/Plates

Foil-backed Paper

Newspaper

Coffee Grinds/Filters

Styrofoam

Magazines

Waxed Paper

Waxed Paper

ECO Cups

Plants/Flowers

Potato Chip Bags

Junk Mail

Wooden Stir Sticks

Wax-lined Paper

Aerosol Cans


COMPOST

LANDFILL

RECYCLE

Food

Plastic Bags

Plastic #1-7

ECO Cups

Candy Wrappers

Paper Bags

Paper Bags

Plastic Utensils

Glass Bottles

Cardboard

Wax Lined Cups

Cardboard

Pizza Boxes

Sandwich Bags

Aluminum Foil

Fast Food Wrappers

Condiment Packages

Soda Cans

Napkins

Plastic Plates

Paper

Paper Cups/Plates

Foil-backed Paper

Newspaper

Coffee Grinds/Filters

Styrofoam

Magazines

Waxed Paper

Waxed Paper

ECO Cups

Plants/Flowers

Potato Chip Bags

Junk Mail

Wooden Stir Sticks

Wax-lined Paper

Aerosol Cans

A.R.R.IAuraria Responsible Recycling Initiative



Auraria Campus Recycling Resource GuideDesign by Stephanie Vecchiarelli

For the Sustainable Campus Program (SCP)Printed on 100% recycled paper with Soy ink.

Interested in learning more about personal

and campus recycling?Register for... ENV 1050 - Environmental

Conservation For Non-majors.Learn about the many environmental

issues we struggle with globally, while

learning how you can help reduce waste

and eliminate contamination here on

campus or at home.

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