Recycling options on campus, in the community
It’s easy to shove unwanted items in our backpacks or in a trashcan without regard to their recyclability, but not all materials should be treated the same. Some materials, such as certain plastics and glass, don’t easily decompose. Luckily, the campus and the community offer many recycling options.
Currently, there are approximately 19 recycling bins on campus – 17 around campus with 1 in every building that categorize recyclable plastic, cans, paper, and waste products. Additionally, 2 are behind the cafeteria where one holds cardboard and the other holds all recyclable material.
Every Friday, Sunrise Enterprises picks up the recycling and takes it to their shop where they separate they separate the items. Then, it gets shipped to different vendors around Oregon who buy the recycled products.
“This worked out well and we have a good relationship with Sunrise,” Jess Miller, director of Facilities and Security, said.
Recycling is important for reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills, which in turn reduces the amount of harmful emissions into the earth’s atmosphere. In addition it helps save energy and conserve natural resources, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website.
Apart from UCC, many recycling centers are offered around Douglas County as well. Sunrise Enterprises, the Roseburg transfer station, Roseburg curbside services and thrift stores such as Goodwill or Heartwood all take certain materials, depending on their recyclability and the types of acceptable materials each place will take.
Sunrise Enterprises, Roseburg Disposal Co. and the Roseburg transfer stations take the largest variety of materials.
“Every glass bottle that is recycled saves enough energy to light a 100 watt lightbulb for 4 hours. Oregon recycles 54 percent of its glass bottles,” the Roseburg Disposal website states.
The Roseburg Disposal Co. collects recyclable materials from recycling bins each week on a regular garbage pick-up day. Their curbside services allow people to recycle a variety of materials from newspaper, motor oil, aluminum, plastic, and glass, to name a few.
Sunrise Enterprises is another viable option for people who want to drop off their unwanted items. It has four station locations around Douglas County at Carnes Road in Green, Diamond Lake Boulevard, West Harvard in Roseburg, and Thompson Street in Winston.
Sunrise recycles cardboard, plastic types 1-3, mixed paper, electronics, and metal or tin. They don’t take glass due to safety hazards. Plastic types are often found at the bottom of the product, such as a plastic water bottle, with a number representing the type.
Rich Tuin, recycling manager at Sunrise Enterprises, said that recycling is important because “it keeps the landfill from getting filled up and it’s a reusable resource that puts money back into the community.”
He added that recycling is especially important for the environment and he encourages everyone who has extra unwanted items to take them to a recycling center.
For more information about recycling options throughout Douglas County, visit recyclepower.org.
RECYCLING FUN FACTS
Around 50 million tons of electrical waste are disposed of annually. That equates to nearly 4 million double decker buses, enough to stretch to the moon more than three times. —OVO Energy
Plastic will take 700 years before it will even start to decompose. Recycling one ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space. —Roseburg Disposal Company
Americans throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12 foot high wall from Seattle to NY. —recycleacrossamerica.org
Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for
three hours or the equivalent of half a gallon of gasoline.
Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, and 2 barrels of oil.
— recyclingbin.com