Pitt recycles, but not all employees do

Andrea Shimko and her roommate regularly carry the box of recyclable paper that they keep in… Andrea Shimko and her roommate regularly carry the box of recyclable paper that they keep in their room out of Holland Hall and into the William Pitt Union.

They’re choosey about where they deposit their recyclables because they’ve heard rumors that Pitt doesn’t recycle.

“We actually bring the paper down five floors and into the Union because we thought it was one of the few places on campus that actually recycles. I’m not sure where we heard that, though,” Shimko said. “I’ve been told for at least a semester and a half that we don’t recycle.”

There are variations to this rumor. Some say only the recyclables in Pitt’s academic buildings are recycled; others believe Pitt does not recycle at all.

Either way, there is a lack of confidence in Pitt’s recycling program.

“I think it’s definitely common knowledge. Just ask around,” Pitt student Mandy Cramer said of Pitt’s supposedly sub-par recycling practices.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said he knows nothing about the allegations.

“I’ve never heard that rumor. Whoever is spreading that is being irresponsible,” Fedele said.

The truth is that Pitt does recycle, although the recycling process can be thwarted by individuals along the way.

Around midnight on Oct. 24, a Facilities Management worker on the main floor of the Union combined the bags of recyclable bottles, cans and paper with the bag of non-recyclable trash in one large black trash bag. The next night around 1:30 a.m., on the fourth floor of the Union, another custodian similarly took the separated materials and dumped them into a large bag.

The staff members took recyclable material that was separated into different bags and tossed the recyclables into their collection bins along with the non-recyclable trash.

“If there are individual instances that happened, I can’t tell you that they didn’t happen,” Fedele said. “On any given occasion they could make a mistake or it could be intentional. I don’t know. But they’re not doing what they should be doing.”

Fedele also explained that the companies that receive Pitt’s recycling would sort out some trash from the recyclable material.

“As far as inadvertently mixed up stuff, our recyclers will accept a small level of mixed trash, but that’s only a small level,” Fedele said.

Each night, the custodians who collect the recyclables and waste determine where the bags are placed at each building’s loading dock – in bins meant for recycling or in Dumpsters. It is not the custodian’s job to pick through recycling bags taking out any garbage that has contaminated the recyclables.

Even though, according to Fedele, the Facilities Management staff meets once a year for training in recycling procedures, some say this is not enough.

“There’s not a lot of training for people who pick up the trash. A lot of them are unconcerned and throw out recyclables due to negligence,” Ashley Schmid, chairwoman of the Student Government Board’s environmental committee, said.

Pitt’s recycling coordinator, Harry Hilliard, was barred by his superiors from giving an interview to The Pitt News and referred all questions to Fedele.

Fedele explained that there are approximately 240 employees who collect recyclables and trash. The number of employees makes the job of policing them difficult. However, supervisors hold spot inspections occasionally to assess the work of the custodians.

Fedele encouraged anyone who sees Facilities Management employees not doing their jobs correctly to report them to senior manager of Facilities ManagementWilliam Mitchell.

Pitt has made an effort to encourage custodians to be more accountable for properly disposing of waste.

In a Pitt News article last fall, students complained about the lack of recycling bins in residence halls. As a result, the University installed recycling bins for glass, plastic and aluminum in many residence hall trash rooms across campus.

According to Tower C RA Madlen Amig, her building made recycling a special priority. Each RA has a box or a container in the hallway of each floor for paper recycling. With only one official paper-recycling bin in Tower C, each RA personally brings the recyclable paper from his or her floor down to the lobby. The RAs in Tower C asked housing for designated recycling bins for paper to put in their trash rooms, but these bins have not been supplied.

Despite the efforts of students like Amig, rumors of Pitt’s lack of recycling practices continue to spread.

“ResLife and the Resident Student Association pushed for clear plastic bags to be used in these bins, because rumors had been circulating that housing was still throwing everything into the garbage,” Amig said.

But despite what students may think, it is a myth that only materials in clear bags are recycled.

Some students avoid recycling bins with black trash bags because they believe that their recyclable material will be thrown out.

Facilities Management posted pictures of its recycling containers on its website along with a list of recyclables that Pitt collects in public areas.

Under the Pennsylvania recycling law, Act 101, the University as a part of the city of Pittsburgh is required to recycle “a minimum of aluminum cans, office paper, corrugated paper and separate leaf waste for composting,” according to Evelyn D’Elia, the state’s recycling education coordinator.

Schmid attributes some of the ineffectiveness of Pitt’s recycling program to the improper labeling of receptacles.

“There’s supposed to be a clear bag over the container and signs that are supposed to tell people what can be recycled. I think that a lot of the recycling bins are not properly labeled,” Schmid said.

Emily Broich, co-president of Pitt’s environmental club, Free the Planet, agreed with the idea that the University needs to create a more uniform system for recycling.

“No one trusts that there’s actual recycling,” Broich said. “I think Pitt is trying to recycle. It’s definitely not the janitors’ fault. The University has to help us get there. There need to be separate bins in every classroom. They definitely have them in the main arteries like the hallways, but most people aren’t going to walk out of class to recycle. It’s not convenient.”

Fedele does not believe this is realistic because of space issues and the expected cost of new bins.

Fedele also said that the extra work created for Facilities Management personnel by an expanded recycling program would result in tuition increases.

Broich and Free the Planet are working to increase awareness about recycling, but both have given up on working with Facilities Management.

“We felt it was taking momentum away from our group. Facilities Management would ignore our phone calls, and we felt awkward trying to get people to recycle when there’s this murky unfamiliarity” with Pitt’s recycling policies, Broich said.

As a result of this uncertainty, Free the Planet is focusing on the students’ role in recycling and encouraging students to recycle despite the rumors.

“That’s the biggest issue on campus – the rumor. Pitt does recycle,” Schmid said.

Schmid said she was once told by an employee in a campus computer lab not to bother putting her paper in a “paper only” recycling bin because, as the employee said, the labs do not recycle.

Schmid was irritated that the employee went so far as to spread that rumor.

In addition to the lack of confidence in Pitt’s recycling program, Schmid believes that the program is not reaching its potential because of student indifference.

Students who recycle at home often forget to recycle at college because it’s not convenient, she said. But it is the students’ responsibility to put their trash in the proper receptacles and not contaminate the bags of recyclables, she added.

Posvar Hall custodian Jim Ulakovic said he tries to ensure that the recycling bins he empties are properly sorted.

“If there’s a bottle on top, I’ll take it out. But, I’m not going to sort through it. I’ve got to throw it away. I can’t sort it out. If it’s clean, I’ll put in the clear bags,” he said.

Schmid understands Ulakovic’s problem.

“If you throw a cup of coffee in a bin of paper, it can’t be recycled. It’s not Facilities Management’s job to sort that out,” she said.

Despite problems like this, Pitt managed to recycle 20 tons of bottles and cans as well as 375 tons of paper and 393 tons of cardboard last year, according to statistics Schmid received from Facilities Management. These materials are weighed at Recycle Management in Carnegie and Pittsburgh Recycling in Hazelwood.

Pitt began recycling paper in 1990, but expanded over the years to include other items, according to Facilities Management’s website.

Pitt also recycles batteries, florescent tubes, scrap metal and computers. Students who have these items to recycle need to contact Facilities Management for a special pickup.

Fedele said Pitt is constantly assessing its recycling program to fix holes in the system, but Schmid is not satisfied.

“More recycling could be done in the CSSD labs, offices, administrative offices and business offices,” she said. “A lot of paper is generated. There are universities that recycle food scraps, napkins and paper towels. Pitt definitely hasn’t reached its recycling capacity yet.”