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Chelsea Collins
Julian Sanchez
ENGL120
1 March 2015
Encouraging Recycling
There seems to be many recycling bins throughout the campus of the University of New
Mexico, and the bins vary in what people can put in, so it doesnt seem that recycling could be
such a problem here. In fact, by only the looks of it, the campus seems to support an eco-friendly
place than not. But after a few months of attending UNM, I came across frequent talk about the
problems UNM faces regarding recycling. It got me thinking of why it is so troubling to get more
students to recycle on campus when there seems to be fairly efficient resources to actively
recycle. I would like to address a few probable strategies that could strengthen the ecofriendliness of UNM, as this issue will not only affect the campus, but also the environment as a
whole surrounding it, if nothing is really being done to enhance it.
One of the problems are that there are always going to be the plain old trash cans in every
direction and doorway. According to Veryfine Products, Inc.s survey, despite their continued
interest in the environment and personal recycling efforts, 62% of the nation's college students
believe the condition of the environment is worse than it was five years ago (Journal Of
Environmental Health, p 37). So looking at this, even though there are many recycling bins
around campus compared to the past, there is only so much that will do on its own to get students
to recycle. On the basis of everyones knowledge, there is at least a layer of awareness for what
is happening to our environment with our constant waste production. But as Veryfine Products,

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Inc.s statistics show, that simply does not motivate people enough to take a few extra steps to
recycle. Incentives are certainly an efficient tactic to increase students motives to recycle, in that
most people, especially students, often think well, what is in it for me? because simply doing it
to maintain the clean air we breathe is not enough. To increase the amount UNM can produce of
recycled materials, the school can essentially reward students that put recyclable materials in
bins with a small amount of money, like a dollar for every ten plastic bottles put in. As an
example, Hong Kong, to further their waste management and encourage reuse and recycle, the
government developed the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme to provide monetary
incentives to waste generators. America benefits with saving more money too, and most of us
know that it takes much less energy and money to use recycled materials instead of getting it
from a raw source, and with the money saved, some can go to those who actively recycle, similar
to what the CWDCS does.
Another thing to think about is what is most of the waste? A majority of it is most likely
paper, from the UNM bookstore, with students having to buy new textbooks every semester
most of those books dont ever get used again after the classes requiring them are over (yes, there
is the option of getting an ebook edition, but that option is only available to a select few out of
hundreds of books that they have) as well as print paper for classroom use, as Ive heard from
previous instructors saying that some departments at UNM spend about $20,000 a semester on
paper. Perhaps UNM could look more closely into the programs currently in use at this school
(the ebook system, Blackboard Learn, etc.), and create more awareness of the amount of waste
being produced compared to if their programs were more efficient.
The trash increase across America has grown incredibly, that now the average person
living in the U.S throws away about 7.1 lbs. of trash every day. So why not start now, when we

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can still do something to better the environment, even if starting from a small step, like a college
campus with strategies like these.

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Works Cited
"College Students Believe The Environment Is Worsening, According To A New Survey."
Journal Of Environmental Health 57.6 (1995): 37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3
Mar. 2015.
Poon, C. S., et al. "Quantifying The Impact Of Construction Waste Charging Scheme On
Construction Waste Management In Hong Kong." Journal Of Construction Engineering
& Management 139.5 (2013): 466-479. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.