Recycling on the ETSU campus, or lack thereof, has become a growing concern.While the University of Tennessee in Knoxville received awards in 2005 for their ‘Keep Orange Green Program’ and Middle Tennessee State University already has a comprehensive recycling program, ETSU trash bins continue to stand alone.
Elana Gulas, president of the ETSU student group Inititiative for Clean Energy, or ICE, said the group’s newly revised mission for this year is to bring recycling to campus.
Last April, in commemoration of Earth Day, ICE held a ‘Trash Audit’ in which bags of trash were emptied and sorted through on a tarp at Borchuck Plaza in front of Sherrod Library.
“It was amazing to see what people threw out and what could be recycled,” she said. “We thought it was very effective.”
Earlier this semester President Paul Stanton addressed the Faculty Senate about this subject. He explained that while it is an important issue, there are no available funds to initiate a large-scale program for recycling plastics and aluminum, and he recommended that it be a student-led effort.
Professor Chris Dula, a member of the Faculty Senate, proposed a possible course of action.
“I think the best method is a university-wide approach,” he said. “If the aluminum, and perhaps other products, were sold, that may offset the cost of purchasing and placing reasonably attractive bins and signage, as well as the extra time by staff to process that material separately from regular trash.”
Some have already taken a personal initiative to start on-campus recycling.
Professor Kelly Price, Faculty Senate member, claims to have possibly the only official and public recycling receptacle on campus, located outside her office door in Sam Wilson Hall.
“I have to take it home three or four times a week,” she said. “Some students bring bags [of recyclables] to me because they know I care about this issue. Everybody cares about this issue, but it needs to be a concerted effort.”
Kathleen Moore, horticulturist and grounds supervisor, reports that ETSU produces about six tons of solid waste per day on all ETSU properties, and this amount is growing each year.
ETSU does recycle paper, cardboard, scrap metal, plant debris and tires, but to further expand the program, Moore said there needs to be strong support from the ETSU community.
Dula offered reasoning from his area of expertise as to why a recycling program would be successful if brought to the campus.
“Psychology tells us that when you make it just as easy to recycle as throw away, many will choose recycling,” he said. “If there are no receptacles for trash, much hits the ground. If you have receptacles for trash, and none for recycling, much that can be recycled hits the trash.”
Bins, signage and a culture of caring about the issue are all important to getting large numbers to participate in the effort, he said.

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