Bateman RC ESD2 Assignment 1

RC Bateman Personal Change Challenge:Recycling at St. Edmund’s

St. Edmund’s CollegeRebecca Bateman – ESD2 Assignment 1

Personal Change Challenge:

Recycling Bins in St. Edmund’s

College Buildings


Current Recycling Capabilities

Curbside Recycling Bins

(Glass, Paper, Cans, Plastic, Cardboard)

Paper Recycling Bins

Glass Recycling BinsGlass

Recycling Bins

Glass Recycling

Bins

Glass Recycling

Bins

1


Project Motivation

Lack of full set of bins in any residence building makes it difficult for students to recycle their personal waste. Many

students do not recycle at all due to lack of available facilities in college buildings. (Studies show that most people will not

recycle if it is inconvenient or difficult.2)

Students’ only option is to collect personal recycling

oneself in room and take it to curbside bins.

In light of the University committing to the Cambridge City Climate Change Charter and the

current social/political atmosphere surrounding recycling, I felt it was unacceptable for St. Edmund’s to

be so lacking.

I wanted to make it easier for students to recycle to

decrease amount of waste at St. Edmund’s that goes into

landfill.


Proposed Changes

Glass, Paper,

Plastic, Can Recycling

Bins

- Adding the illustrated bin to the Richard Laws and Brian Heap residence buildings.- Students would separate materials into various bin compartments that are lined with plastic bags.

-Housekeeping would empty recycle bin on a regular basis and take material to curbside bins.

These buildings were chosen because they have the most space for new bins. Further buildings were not pursued because it was felt it would be an easier sell to college administration to focus on only two areas.


Actions1. I spoke with St. Edmund’s current and former Environmental Officers. They

informed me of the following:• Glass bins currently in residence buildings (emptied by housekeeping) were a

test. If it was successful, then further material bins were to be added. Momentum for this initiative was lost, and it was never again pursued.

• College administration has mixed feelings on sustainability. Bursar’s Office is supportive, while Master’s Office is not.

• I should speak with the College Housekeeper about putting in bins for her staff to empty.

2. I met with the Housekeeper. She was very reluctant and defensive about having her staff empty the bins.

• She felt it would be added work for the staff (larger and heavier bags to move), although I countered that the total amount of waste they removed would be the same.

• She did not feel the students would comply with recycling directions (e.g., washing and proper material separation).

• She finally agreed to a three-month trial period of having housekeeping staff empty the bins if the students or college purchased the bins.

• If there was sufficient student compliance, the system could continue.


Actions (cont.)

3. On the advice of our Environmental Officer, I submitted a written request to the Bursar’s Office to cover half the costs of the new proposed bins.

4. As of the time of writing this, the letter was still under review. The Bursar’s Office has advised that as this cost was not in the yearly budget, chances are low for approval. The CR may have to foot the entire bill, which the Environmental Officer tells me should be acceptable.

5. If and when bins are purchased and placed in college, I will be starting an educational campaign to advertise proper use of the bins to the students – including obtaining fliers from the City of Cambridge Recycling Program, emails to all students, instructions posted near the bins, and word of mouth among my friends.

6. Ideally, this scheme would last for years into the future.


Reflections

• I am glad I began my project by speaking with my College Environmental Officer. I encountered a lot of resistance as pursued this project, and it was nice to have a supportive voice in the mix.

• I was shocked to hear the Master’s Office was so unsupportive of Sustainability. In fact, a Sustainability Plan that a previous Environment Officer wrote was flatly rejected by the Master. It is amazing to me that anyone in a position of power in this day and age can care so little about sustainability – especially when they are a part of a larger organization that supports it.

• I encountered a great deal of resistance from the College Housekeeper. The meeting with her was very uncomfortable. She had obviously been approached many times by students about this and seemed to take out her frustrations on me; she was hostile straight from the beginning of the meeting. I felt I was very rational and polite, while she was defensive. I left the meeting feeling shaken and angry, although I was pleased she agreed to the trial period compromise.


Reflections (cont.)

• My hope is that if this initiative succeeds, it will last well into the future. I know that the Environmental Officers have been pushing for years for something like this, but they feel a bit beaten down by its past failures. Hopefully my entry as a fresh face on the issue will give it some weight.

• I worry about student compliance with recycling procedures. Until I met with the Housekeeper, I wasn’t concerned. But, as she has attached so much importance to this, I get the feeling I may not be seeing the whole picture. My plan is to enlist the help of my friends that live in these buildings to persuade fellow students to properly use the bins.

• I also hope money to purchase the bins does not derail my plans. It is possible that there will not be sufficient funds, but I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it.


Conclusion

So far, I consider the project a success. There was doubt I could convince the Housekeeper of my idea, and this seemed to be the biggest hurdle.

We’ll see what the future holds….


References

1 St. Edmund’s College 2007, ‘Map of the College’, St Edmunds : Life at St Edmund's : Map of the College. Available from: <http://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/life/map/index.php> [22 February 2009].

2 Aceti Associates of Arlington, MA 2002, ‘Recycling: Why People Participate; Why They Don’t’, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Available from: <http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/crbdrop.pdf> [24 February 2009].

Bateman RC ESD2 Assignment 1

Documents

Transcript of Bateman RC ESD2 Assignment 1