NIU recycles about half as much as it throws away, according to Waste Management.

“We will pick up between six and seven tons of garbage a day,” said Tom Sundstrom, district operations manager of Waste Management. “We will usually pick up three tons of recycling every day.”

There are a number of reasons that contribute to the overall excessive amounts of waste, said NIU energy specialist Mary Drain.

As a society, and as people, we use and discard more things that are not recyclable, Drain said.

“Some of us do not recycle recyclables,” Drain said.

Drain said another contributing factor is that garbage weighs significantly more than recyclables, cubic yard to cubic yard. NIU’s campus reaches across 755 acres and is occupied by over 25,000 students. Waste Management provides daily service for the campus.

“NIU pays approximately $300,000 for garbage removal and $100,000 for recycling per year,” Drain said.

Waste Management services the campus like any other area.
“We have two drivers that service the campus,” Sundstrom said.

Two employees service the campus five days a week, one collecting garbage and the other collecting recycling materials, Sundstrom said.

Sundstrom said the campus can accumulate waste quickly over a matter of a day.

Sundstrom advises students to recycle as much as they can. Waste management maintains the campus in part with help from Building Services. Waste management provides the campus with dumpsters, and Building Services collects the waste and prepares it for disposal.

Many buildings around campus also are equipped with source separation receptacles.

“The number one reason for the recycling bins is to keep recyclables separate from garbage. A close second, which is related, is to keep the paper away from the beverage containers,” Drain said. Beverage containers often still have liquid in them that may contaminate paper recyclables.

Garbage is not sorted to reclaim recyclables. Even with the sorting receptacles, though, garbage can find its way into the recycling bins.

“Small amounts of garbage will not automatically divert recycling from being recycled,” Drain said. “However, enough garbage in a recycling bin will signal contamination and the load will be emptied as garbage.”

There are no guidelines for the amount of garbage that a receptacle must contain to be regarded as garbage. The decision is made by the collectors.
Building Services collects and hauls away material from the receptacles, where it is sorted appropriately. Garbage is taken to the landfill, while recycling is taken to a nearby recycling compost center.

“All of the materials from the recycling bins are sorted and separated as commodities and are either sent to brokers or directly to paper mills, aluminum foundries, etc., as prescribed by the materials and market,” Drain said.

There is also a community dumpster provided by Waste Management, where students who live in apartments can bring their recyclables.

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