Home
  

Section Navigation

Business Affairs Websites

Contact Us

Physical Plant
P.O. Box 32105
Boone, NC, 28608 USA
+1 (828) 262-3190

265 Dale Street
Boone, NC 28608-2105

Questions or Comments?
Please contact us.

Appalachian Recycles

 

 

 


Mess on the Mall Raises Awareness of Plastic Bottle Ban

Ever seen a Trash Dragon?  The Trash Dragon, a large puppet created from trash by Elkland Arts Center and students at the event, was just one of the attendees at Appalachian State University’s Mess on the Mall.

Trash Dragon Mess on the Mall, held on October 8, 2009, was an  event to raise awareness of a new NC plastic bottle ban from landfills, recycling on campus and trash generation.  The Office of Sustainability and ASU Recycles partnered to collect and sort two days of trash and recycling from Plemmons Student Union.  The trash and recycling were dumped on Sanford Mall.  A midday highlight was the trash dragon parade put on by students from a First Year Seminar class and Elkland Arts Center.

In anticipation of Mess on the Mall, trash and recycling from the Plemmons Student Union was collected for two days prior to the event.  ASU Recycles and the Office of Sustainability worked with a sustainable resource management class to deliver the collection of trash and recycling bags to Sanford Mall, in the heart of Appalachian’s campus.  More than 2040 pounds of trash was discarded during these two days, and an estimated 175 pounds of recycling was collected.  Disappointingly, much of the trash was “contaminated” with recyclables. 

Enthusiastic staff members and students worked together to sort these recyclable materials from the trash, and a visual display was formed on Sanford Mall.  There were three piles: black bags with trash, clear bags with the materials recycled, and a separate pile of bags and bins of materials which could have been recycled but were originally thrown away.  The recycling that was sorted out of the trash was actually larger than the pile of materials that had been originally recycled in the Student Union.  Though there was more weight in the trash piles, the total volume of the recyclables was close to the volume of the trash discarded, proving that recycling can save a lot of room in the landfills.

Signs were placed all around the event explaining the piles, encouraging recycling, giving facts about recycling in North Carolina, and informing students about the new ban on plastic bottles from North Carolina landfills.  The event garnered a lot of student interest and raised awareness of the new ban, recycling, and the amount of trash generated by Appalachian State University.

Eckland Arts Center, a local arts center, which creates beautiful art puppets out of discarded items, provided the trash dragon, which was paraded around Sanford Mall to draw students' interest.  Elkland Arts Center also set up a booth to allow interested students to create art from trash.  Recycling representatives were present from the community, including the Town of Boone and Watauga County, to serve as a recycling resource for the ASU community.  RE3, a NC statewide recycling campaign, also was represented.

Here are three ways you can help make our ASU campus more sustainable.

1.       Use a reusable beverage container when you can at dining facilities.  Reduce.

2.       Refuse the plastic bag!  Get into the habit of taking your own cloth bag for purchased items.  Take-out can be placed in them too!  Reuse.

3.       Get into the habit of recycling.

It’s easy being green.  On campus, there are recycling bins for almost everything.  There are bins for office paper, newspapers, magazines, telephone books, books, cardboard and pasteboard, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, steel cans, and all-colored glass. In the Student Union, there is a special recycling site for printer cartridges, cell phones, batteries, CDs/DVDs, computer equipment, diskettes, film, plastic bags, fluorescent bulbs.  This is located in the International Hallway by the ATM.  The post office even has a slot for confidential recycling!

Mission Statement

The mission of the ASU Recycling Program is to partner with the campus community to promote sustainable resource management practices and to conserve earth’s natural resources.

General Information

The ASU Recycles program is an in-house operation housed in the Physical Plant and targeting all academic and administrative buildings on campus. In addition to the standard recyclables, we also collect several other special recycling items in various locations throughout campus. The recycling program began as a student initiative in 1989. We have developed an ongoing comprehensive education and outreach plan targeted toward the entire campus community which focuses on waste reduction and recycling. We encourage the entire campus community to participate in this program.

ASU RECYCLES- ITEMS ACCEPTED- ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS

  1. OFFICE PAPER (WHITE PAPER, COLOR PAPER AND COMPUTER PRINTOUT): Includes all white paper, color paper, notebook paper, file folders, ASU letterhead, pin-feed PC and other similar papers. If paper is in a binder or spiral notebook, paper must be removed before it is placed in the recycling bin.
  2. NEWSPAPERS: If it came with the paper, it can go with the paper.
  3. MAGAZINES: Magazines, Catalogs and Glossy Paper- including inserts.
  4. TELEPHONE BOOKS: Box or bag and place next to existing recycling site.
  5. BOOKS: Picked up upon request- please box and label for recycling.
  6. CARDBOARD AND PASTEBOARD: This includes corrugated cardboard and paperboard such as cereal boxes. PLEASE FLATTEN BOXES!
  7. BOTTLES AND CANS (PLASTIC BOTTLES, ALUMINUM CANS AND STEEL CANS): Please remove lids and rinse before recycling. Plastics (#1 through #7)- BOTTLES ONLY (neck must be smaller than the base).
  8. GLASS (ALL COLORS): Please keep in separate container and place next to existing recycling site!

ASU - SPECIAL RECYCLING - ITEMS ACCEPTED

Box or bag the following and place next to an existing recycling site or drop off at special recycling locations in the Student Union and Technology Support Services.

  1. PRINTER CARTRIDGES: Place in original package when possible.
  2. CELL PHONES including accessories
  3. BATTERIES: all types
  4. COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, CDs, DVDs, DISKETTES, FILM, ETC.
  5. PLASTIC BAGS
  6. COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULBS (CFLs): Please bring your CFL bulbs to the info desk of the student union for recycling
  7. CONFIDENTIAL RECYCLING: accepted at Post Office in confidential recycling slot for students.  For faculty and staff,  please call for special confidential recycling services.

WASTE REDUCTION TIPS

  1. Reduce the amount of packaging you buy, reuse when you can, and recycle or compost the rest
  2. Double-side copy and use old sheets as scratch paper for notes
  3. Minimize paper use by distributing info electronically
  4. Buy recycled content products
  5. Reuse notebooks, folders, and hanging file folders, among other items
  6. Reuse cardboard and paperboard boxes before recycling them
  7. Use a reusable coffee mug or cup instead of disposables
  8. Pack lunches in reusable containers
  9. Shop with reusable shopping bags
  10. Donate unwanted items to a local thrift or charity
  11. TELL A FRIEND!

Participation

Any campus community member can schedule an education/motivation session as needed. This session will enable the campus community to participate effectively in the recycling program and help existing faculty, staff and students renew their commitment to waste reduction and recycling.

Recycle At The Rock (Football Recycling Program)

Please help the Appalachian State University community continue their mission of environmental responsibility by participating in the Recycle at the Rock initiative. In tailgating areas, dispose of all plastic, glass, aluminum, and steel in green, recyclable bags. The bags will be distributed by volunteers, placed on ASU Landscaping Services gators, and located at the Green Zone volunteer hub next to the Yosef statue on the corner of River St. and Stadium Dr. Visit designated recycling areas for proper disposal in and around the stadium. For more info, please contact Jen Maxwell at 828-262-3190 x108 or maxwelljb@appstate.edu. For volunteer opportunities, please contact Lydia Cardinal cardinalll@email.appstate.edu or Lindsay Swanson swansonlm@email.appstate.edu. Go Mountaineers!

2008 RESULTS

2008 results

 


Additional Resources:

For further information, call Jennifer Maxwell at 3190, ext 108 or email: maxwelljb@appstate.edu