ISU's campus cafés implemented a new recycling program this fall that allows workers to combine glass, plastic and cardboard waste into single, 50-gallon bins. This is good news on two counts: these materials were not being recycled before, and having one bin to dump them in makes workers' jobs a bit easier.
Participating cafés
- Bookends (Parks Library)
- Business (Gerdin Business Building)
- Courtyard (Lagomarcino Hall)
- Design (College of Design)
- FROOTS (State Gym)
- Gentle Doctor (College of Veterinary Medicine)
- Global (Curtiss Hall)
- Harvest (Biorenewables Complex)
"This is an important step to take in our cafés to help with the Live Green program," said Christy Eischeid, assistant food service manager. "Plus, having the containers be streamlined -- meaning all three items can be placed into one bin -- helps our program succeed. We do not have a lot of space within our cafés to place several bins."
Also new this semester are blue 32-gallon recycling bins, strategically placed near the cafés, where patrons are encouraged to discard their beverage bottles and cans. Facilities planning and management provided the bins for both projects and picks up the recyclables each week.
Though it's too soon to tell how much waste the programs are diverting from the trash, Eischeid knows it's making a difference.
"It's too early for accurate numbers, but so far it seems to be quite a bit from some locations," she said.
