Strategic Plan and the Working Group | Back to Top

The IU Task Force on Sustainability (IUSTF) created the Resource Use and Recycling Working Group in 2007 to address issues of resource use and recycling on the IUB campus and in the surrounding community.  With the establishment of the IU Office of Sustainability in 2009, the IUSTF transitioned into the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board (CSAB).  The Resource Use and Recycling Working Group continues its research and programming as one of seven CSAB working groups.  This section addresses the mission, strategic plan and membership of this group.

Mission

To raise awareness of resource use and recycling on the IUB campus among faculty, staff, and students, implement strategies to enhance campus recycling systems, and promote responsible resource use through green purchasing, conservation, and smart technology.

Strategic Plan

To create a strategic plan for resource use and recycling on campus, the working group examined the capabilities of IU Bloomington by first identifying key benchmarks for the campus. Next, they researched peer institutions and examined their recycling and resource practices. Finally, the working group developed recommendations for the campus based on the results of the preliminary work, in order for IU to move toward becoming more sustainable in its recycling practices and use of resources. These recommendations can be found in the Next Steps section.

Working Group Membership

Working Group Member	Title	Email (@indiana.edu)
Tom Fallwell	Co-Chair, Building Services	tfallwell
Diane Henshel*	Co-Chair, Faculty (SPEA)	dhenshel
Meredith Dowlling	No Waste Coordinator (IUOS); Graduate Student (SPEA)	medowlin
Tom Fallwell	Waste Management Coordinator (Building Services)	tfallwel
Greg Fitcher	Assistant Director (Building Services)	gfitcher
Alexi Lamm	Hoosier to Hoosier Coordinator (IUOS); Graduate Student (SPEA)	alamm
Tim Rice	Contract Manager (Purchasing)	trice
Steve Riggins	Property Manager (IU Real Estate)	seriggin

* Stepping down in fall of 2011.

 

Progress at IU | Back to To

RecycleMania Comes to IU

Pack up your plastics and gather your glass containers. RecycleMania is coming to Indiana University Bloomington.

RecycleMania is a friendly, nationwide competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. The contest will run for 10 weeks, until March 27.

IU is paired in the competition division with Butler University, Marian College, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame. During the contest, IU RecycleMania Coordinator Steve Akers will collect and report waste and recycling data for the campus.

Visit IU's page on the RecycleMania website.  Go to www.recyclemania.org and click on the "participating schools" link.  Read the recent press release.

Previous Internships

Resource use and recycling internships have been a key component to the IU Office of Sustainability’s progress in the past few years.  These internships have been offered every spring and summer since the summer of 2007.  Projects involve collaborative research between other interns, IU faculty and staff, and project mentors.  The overall goal of internships is to research the topic and implement a solution that enhances the sustainability of Indiana University’s campus.  Often this goal is achieved over the time span of a few internships; therefore interns must build on previous intern work.

• Resource Use and Recycling Study, Summer 2007: Kate Rosenbarger looked at campus resource use from purchasing to disposal. She began by surveying IUB Building Services, the Indiana Memorial Union, and Residential Programs and Services Environmental Operations to determine current resource use and recycling practices. When she obtained sufficient benchmark data for IUB and then research similar information at peer institutions, she compared sustainable resource use at IUB with that at other universities. She used this information to create recommendations for IUB regarding sustainable purchasing, resource use and recycling.
• Resource Use and Recycling Project, Summer 2008: Emmy Giovanni identified key challenges in implementing a successful recycling program at IU.  She used these challenges to frame investigate best practices at peer institutions and make recommendations for IU. 
• Campus Recycling Center Feasibility Study, Academic Year 2008-2009: Melissa Greulich investigated the feasibility of an on-campus recycling center. She researched the recycling needs of the campus community, estimated the volume of material that might be expected, and explored logistics between outside partners such as Hoosier Disposal and the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District.
• E-Waste Solutions, Academic Year 2008-2009: Laura Knudsen coordinated support for an e-waste pick-up day in the Spring of 2009.  The collaboration with Apple Inc. diverted nearly 832,000 pounds of e-waste away from the landfill for recycling in the U.S.
• Campus Waste Audit, Academic Year 2008-2009: Amy Countryman preformed a series of waste audits to identify the amount of recyclable material that is still in the waste stream.  After visiting most of the IU Residence Halls, Amy determined that over 50% of the trash thrown away could have been recycled.
• Campus Recycling Center Feasibility Study, Summer 2009: Melissa Greulich continued her internship from the spring where she focused on the costs and benefits of having a recycling center on campus and also created surveys to gauge students’ attitudes about recycling.  Her results indicated students would like to recycle more, but find it inconvenient.  Over the summer she developed a framework for a recycling center that would make recycling more efficient and convenient for students, faculty and staff.
• Increasing Awareness of Campus Recycling Initiatives, Academic Year 2009-2010: Brendon Baatz is working this academic year to will further initiatives related to campus recycling and to increase awareness of recycling programs on campus.
• Reclamation and Resale of Reusable Student Move-Out Waste, Academic Year 2009-2010: John Patishnock is working to develop strategies on the IUB campus that will help reduce the amount of waste generated by students during the move-out time period.  He will also be working on ways to resell collected items in an effort to reduce the demand for new items.

 

Next Steps | Back to Top

Presently, two interns are working with the Resource Use and Recycling Group to pursue the working group’s strategic goals, including:

• Labeling all indoor recycling bins on campus with a university recycling symbol;
• Purchasing and strategically placing outdoor recycling bins;
• Unifying recycling divisions on campus;
• Providing more convenient recycling options to increase participation among students, faculty and staff;
• Increasing the percentage of waste diverted from the landfill; and
• Reducing the amount of “move-out” trash by creating a reuse and recycling program. 

The Campus Sustainability Report also created short and long-term recommendations for increasing recycling and decreasing resource use.  These recommendations are listed below.

Short-term Recycling Recommendations

• Measure amount of waste generated by all streams (including non-conventional such as construction).
• Initiate athletic recycling program in athletic facilities and at outdoor events.
• Disperse IU recycling logo stickers on all recycling bins around campus.
• Offer small recycling bins for all dorm rooms on campus.
• Offer recycling at all Greek houses on campus.
• Initiate composting at IU food courts and consider donating compost to City of Bloomington Community Garden’s program.
• Integrate recycling and composting education into freshmen orientation.
• Renegotiate contract with Hoosier Disposal or the proposed County Material Recovery Facility to ensure maximal economic and environmental benefits to the university.
• Create a recycling system consistent across all divisions involved (i.e. signage, materials recycled, and operations).
• Organize efforts to donate end-of-the-year move out items to local charities; this includes clothing, furniture, electronics and other items.
• Organize the second annual “E-waste Collection Day” with improvements and operations based on last year’s event.
• Provide battery recycling in every campus building.
• Establish a goal of the percentage of waste diverted from landfills above the current diversion rate of 14%.

Long-term Recycling Recommendations

• Purchase more recycling bins that are visually cohesive across departments for all campus buildings.
• Create “satellite collection sites” around campus that collect common recyclable items (paper, glass, plastic, etc.) and non-conventional items (paint, motor oil, books, etc.)

• Purchase more recycling bins that are visually cohesive across departments for all campus buildings.
• Create “satellite collection sites” around campus that collect common recyclable items (paper, glass, plastic, etc.) and non-conventional items (paint, motor oil, books, etc.)

Short-term Resource Use Recommendations

• Consider renegotiating Coca-Cola contract so that products sold on campus are made of materials that are more profitable in the recycling market (i.e. sell cans of soda instead of bottled soda).
• Purchase more products that are made of high percentages of recycled content.
• Promote the use of reusable water bottles and food containers to students by selling them in campus food stores or making them a prize for various events.
• Promote the use of Energy Star appliances in campus buildings.
• Advertise throughout campus the availability of reasonably-priced items at the Surplus Store.
• Integrate water-saving practices and appliances into dorms and athletic gyms.
• Reduce the amount of free pages permitted in printing quotas to encourage a reduction in printing, therefore reducing the paper waste stream.

Long-term Campus Resource Use Goals

• Encourage duplex printing in computer labs on campus.
• Implement the use of light sensors in campus buildings to reduce the amount of energy used in vacant rooms.
• Organize student events such as the IU Dorm Energy Challenge, that promote energy and resource conservation.
• Meter energy and water use in campus buildings to find areas that overuse resources.  Use the data to improve the efficiency of campus buildings that are using more resources.
• Create environmental communities within residences halls and campus buildings that lead others in the building to practice more sustainable actions while at work or home.

 

Resources | Back to Top

• United States Environmental Protection Agency – Resource Conservation
• Indiana Recycling Coalition
• Indiana Department of Environmental Management
• Recycling Indiana
• Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
• National Recycling Coalition
• College and University Recycling Council
• Monroe County Solid Waste Management District
• Hoosier Disposal Waste Management
• City of Bloomington Recycling/ Waste Management
• RecycleMania

 

Get Involved | Back to Top

For more opportunities to get involved on campus click here, or check out this list of community partners:

Collaborations with Community Groups and the City of Bloomington

• Hilltop Aluminum Can Project: Individuals or groups can collect aluminum cans to benefit Hilltop Gardens.  For more information contact Hilltop at (812) 855-8808 or hilltop@indiana.edu.