Recycling Made Easy

      For some, recycling can be confusing.  A common dilemma we face after finishing a meal outside of our homes is: Trash v. Recycling.  It may seem trivial, but I even find myself headed towards a trash/recycling station - out to eat at a seat-yourself type restaurant or in a coffee shop - thinking about where the scraps of my meal should go.  What is acceptable to recycle?  Will I do more harm by placing an item in the recycling that does not belong?  For this very reason, signage and proper dissemination of information about the type of recycling available in town, and on campus, is extremely important to the cause of recycling.  It may seem like a hassle to those that are confused, but believe it or not, it can be quite easy if you know what you are doing.

     The University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor is not exempt from the confusion that follows recycling.  Only less than two years ago, the University followed the town it resides in in implementing single stream recycling, (http://sustainability.umich.edu/news/single-stream-recycling-u-m-0).  This switch would make it much easier to recycle without hassle, because essentially, there would be no sorting within recyclables for the consumer.  The only speed bump in the switch to single stream would be proper circulation of information about the new recycling process on campus.  Ultimately, it takes both strategic placement of new, labeled bins, as well as flyering about single stream recycling to get active involvement from the University community.  Here's some photos of how the University of Michigan makes recycling easy: