It might be the dead of winter, but green is sprouting everywhere at West Liberty University.
“We received 400 recycling bins to spread about campus recently. With our students back in class for spring semester now, we are hoping for an easy transition into our new recycling effort,” said Dr. David Thomas, who chairs the Green Initiative Committee (GIC) at WLU. Thomas also teaches English.
“Since our recycling bins are blue, we are using the advertising slogan: Blue is the new green,” he explained. Each building has a large 32-gallon bin placed on each floor. Classrooms and offices have smaller bins.
“It’s a great improvement over the few isolated recycling areas that were previously available. The blue bins are easy to find and use,” said student Richard Tyler, from St. Clairsville, Ohio.
In past surveys conducted by the GIC, about 84 percent of the WLU community admitted that it would recycle if the practice were made more convenient.
“This single-stream recycling process will also be an encouragement to practice sustainability and environmental responsibility. Simply put, single-stream recycling means that all recyclables (paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and cans, both aluminum and bi-metal) are placed in the same bin and then sorted later by Republic Services, our recycling provider,” Thomas said.
“A video on our website (green6665.wix.com/g-I-c) explains this process in detail. Republic Services Multipurpose Recycling Facility is locate on Neville Island, just outside of Pittsburgh,” he continued.
The bins were purchased thanks to grant money received over a year ago from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“No successful endeavor is ever the work of just one person! The GIC, in conjunction with the President’s Council of Sustainability, has been the driving force to implement recycling at WLU. Dr. John P. McCullough, executive assistant to the president, and Jim Stultz, vice president of human resources, were both very helpful early-on in securing financial records and workers to justify the grant. Also, Eric Caldwell, area manager of Republic Services; Pat Henry, WLU chief of operations; Shelly Klatt, custodial services director for Republic Services; and J. Ed Stewart, WLU director of procurement, have all been invaluable resources in initiating the program. Additionally, “Bo” McConnaughy, acting as recycling monitor, has been helpful in the management of student workers and the distribution of the recycling containers,” said Thomas.
All members of the campus community are encouraged to support and to participate in the recycling program.
“I have recycled all of my life! I was the last male in a series of older cousins and their brothers, and, as a result, I recycled their hand-me-downs until they were threads. Also, I grew up on a farm in
Pennsylvania, and I, consequently, developed a deep and meaningful relationship with the earth. For these reasons, I felt compelled to become involved in a recycling program at WLU,” said Thomas.
Currently, several students have already volunteered to be ambassadors for the program and the GIC is still looking for additional volunteers.
For more information, please e-mail green@westliberty.edu.
