Pennsylvania takes trash, Pittsburgh turns it to gold

From the computer labs and cafeterias to the flyers and pamphlets scattered across campus,… From the computer labs and cafeterias to the flyers and pamphlets scattered across campus, we accumulate a lot of trash.

But while most students put a lot of energy into generating trash, whether by eating lunch or publicizing an event, few seem to worry about where the trash goes.

“I know we have recycling bins around campus, but they don’t always get used properly,” junior Jared Mitchell said. “How do we even know that the stuff in those bins is getting recycled?”

A recycling collection company called Unipaper collects recyclables on Pitt’s campus on a weekly basis. The recyclables include bottles, cans, plastic, aluminum and clear glass. According to Mike Brennan, recycling coordinator for Pitt, Pitt recycles about 360 tons of paper and more than 180 tons of cardboard a year.

Pitt also recycles an average 40,000 pounds of steel a year, according to Brennan’s records.

The money raised from trash dumped into the recycling bins around campus is donated to Habitat for Humanity, according to Brennan.

The city of Pittsburgh works with the surrounding areas to encourage recycling by placing bottle-shaped bins around heavily trafficked corners in individual communities, such as the business districts of Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Bloomfield and Polish Hill.

“This started a few years back and we have seen rather positive results from the idea,” said Sharon Svitek, the recycling coordinator at the Department of Environmental Protection in Pittsburgh.Many business owners in various parts of the city are happy with the efforts to help keep Pittsburgh beautiful.

“It’s nice to see that our taxes are being used for something good,” said Marta Ferra, a longtime worker at Cappy’s Cafe on Walnut Street in Shadyside. “Recycling is so easy, but not enough people take the time to walk five extra steps to a recycling bin and throw a can in there, as opposed to a trash can or the side of the street.”

Despite the city’s efforts to control trash generated by Pittsburgh’s residents, Pennsylvania remains a receptacle for out-of-state trash haulers, who transport other states’ garbage into Pennsylvania.

DEP representatives say they have tried to keep out-of-state trash that is dumped here to a minimum, but they did not have much success until recently.

“There was no real reason for it. I guess it was just easier to dump off in Pennsylvania because of all the open terrain, as opposed to somewhere else along the coast,” said Mike Forbeck, permit issuer for the DEP.

In 2002, out-of-state trash haulers dumped 11.7 million tons of trash into Pennsylvania, which is less than the 12.6 million tons of waste dumped in 2001. It was the first time in 11 years that the amount of out-of-state trash dumped into Pennsylvania was less than the previous year, according to the DEP.

Democrats in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives established a bill in 2000 requiring “landfill owners seeking to build or expand landfills to provide clear and compelling reasons for their request, as well as address the environmental and health concerns of residents.”

Last year, a $4 fee was added to the waste-dumping fee, according to Brennan. This brings the cost to $7.25 per ton of waste dumped into Pennsylvania, more than doubling the cost of the year before.

Newly placed restrictions on incoming out-of-state trash include stricter policies on landfills, new permit laws, more crackdowns on safety, environmental checkpoints and the prevention of trucks carrying illegal chemical, radiological or biological hazards coming into Pennsylvania.

Trash haulers must also wear a vehicle registration sticker stating that the vehicle was cleared ahead of time and is permitted to carry waste into Pennsylvania.

“These laws make it less enticing for out-of-state trash to come into Pennsylvania, with higher restrictions and tighter security measures,” Svitek said.