Duke is blasting ahead on a course of environmental sustainability by constructing greener buildings and developing new research facilities. But we have yet to make some more basic reforms-namely, in recycling and paper consumption. Hopefully, two resolutions being considered by DSG today will help change all that.
Let's take recycling first. Duke is an enormous institution and produces a lot of waste. Not recycling is a bit like China building hospitals with fancy MRI machines, all while leaving out basic access to toilets or sinks with soap-yes, I've been there and done that. While launching a functional recycling program at Duke might not take an advanced degree in engineering, it does demand a commitment on the part of administrators and students.
So why should we care?
Recycling promotes national security. Before you laugh, if you believe that reducing our dependence on foreign oil makes us safer, then consider this: Crude oil is a major component in manufacturing aluminum cans and plastic bottles. In 2005, Americans wasted 50 billion aluminum cans. That's equal to 16 million barrels of crude oil that could have stayed in Saudi Arabia.
Recycling means releasing fewer greenhouse gasses (GHGs). Aluminum smelting requires coal, and Americans burned two million tons of the sulfur-packed stuff in 2000 to replace just half the cans we wasted in 2000. Two tons of the GHG carbon dioxide are emitted per ton of aluminum produced. Something to think about the next time you toss that Diet Coke into the nearest raised hole. Miami University has prevented the release of more than 14 million tons of GHGs since 2003 based on its high recycling rates.
Recycling is good for consumers. Trashing bottles and cans means increased demand for oil, thus pushing prices up for services that require oil inputs, such as gasoline and electricity. The total energy savings lost from not recycling aluminum cans alone in 2001 equates to electrifying 2.7 million homes and 746 million gallons of gasoline.
DSG will consider two resolutions today, the first of which tackles the deplorable state of recycling in the University's residence halls.
Mary Buhl, head of Duke Recycles, has worked tirelessly to improve the recycling situation at Duke since she arrived more than a year ago. But she is hindered by an inane University policy prohibiting Duke Recycles from entering dorms. Dorm recycling thus falls under the purview of Residence Life and Housing, which has come up short in administering this obligation.
The reality is that much of what students recycle gets trashed by housekeeping staff. One way to help ensure dorm recycling actually gets done is to alert Buhl whenever you see an employee improperly mixing recyclables with trash (mary.buhl@duke.edu).
Another is for DSG to support the resolution, which would make recycling more convenient for students by modernizing the recycling bins and placing them next to trash cans, along with demanding that RLHS step up to the plate regarding training, monitoring and enforcement.
The second DSG resolution concerns an exciting new campaign at Duke called "Print Green" aimed at reducing Duke students' voracious paper consumption. In the last two years, paper use has soared 75 percent to roughly 30 million sheets per year in OIT labs and the libraries combined. Further, Duke is among a dwindling number of universities that continues to use virgin (non-recycled) paper. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 students have signed a petition supporting double-sided printing and making it the default setting on all OIT-administered computers.
That would save a lot of paper. UNC, for example-where "default duplex" has been the norm since 1999-consumed only 22 million sheets of paper in its computer clusters in 2005. And that's with nearly three times as many students as attend Duke. OIT's Kevin Davis and George Ward have enthusiastically embraced the Print Green campaign, and passing the DSG resolution will further affirm Duke students' commitment to making the initiative a reality.
Of course, structural changes are only half the battle. As students, we also need to accept some responsibility for the waste we produce. That means not printing reams of documents for the sake of appearing studious even though we won't read half of them, and taking the time to actually recycle a bottle-yes, even if the recycling bin is 20 feet farther away than the trash can.
Jared Fish is a Trinity senior and is a member of the Environmental Alliance. His column usually runs every other Thursday.
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