MCC continues green initiatives - recycling numbers on the rise

This summer, Green Initiative Task Force representatives on MCC campuses began to encourage employees and students to waste less and recycle more.

At MCC- Business & Technology, Maple Woods, Penn Valley and 1601 Prospect, trash cans in office areas were replaced with smaller containers to encourage faculty and staff to consider everything they can recycle before throwing it in the trash. Large trash receptacles are now located in the hallways and common areas as collecting points for the trash. Employees are asked to empty their own trash and recyclable materials at the end of each day.

At MCC-Blue River, Longview and the Administrative Center, some employees have volunteered to replace their trash cans with the smaller container.

“It’s hard to throw away a piece of paper in the new containers, unless you crumple it up,” said Darrel Meyer, director of MCC facility services and head of the Green Initiative Task Force. “The idea is to make people think about what they can recycle before they throw it away.”

According to Meyer, this effort has really increased the recycling numbers and lowered the amount of trash being picked up by Deffenbaugh. Since January 2010, MCC has recycled 52.34 tons of cardboard and other recyclables.

Employee recycling is one of many efforts that MCC is making to conserve, recycle and reduce MCC’s impact on the environment. Several campuses are planning to remove trash cans from the class rooms (except biology/chemistry labs) later this fall.

“We need to do our part to sustain our campus in ways that reduce our costs and lessen our footprint on the environment,” said Bernard Franklin, president of Penn Valley. “The leadership team has embraced this effort all the way.”

Containers for glass recycling have also been added to each campus and the Administrative Center. The task force is researching the placement of Ripple Glass bins at several locations.

Stay tuned to The MCC Insider for monthly green initiative updates, or fan the MCC Green Initiative Task Force facebook page.