Luke Winsor

10 October 2015
English 402
Unit 2.3
To: The Pullman Community
From: Luke Winsor
Re: Recommendation Memo
Summary:
This memo contains the following sections;
Introduction
Extrapolate on the problem my research focuses on and why it is
important
Research Methods
Outline of the various sources I used to gather my research
Results
The findings of my research, I have only included the information
that I deemed useful in creating a worthwhile conclusion.
Conclusions
Decisions and opinions based on the research I was able to
gather
Recommendation
Final goals/ideas of what can be done with my research and why.
Introduction: This goal for this project was to address the problems
that Pullman (specifically College Hill) has as far as a very lacking recycling
system. In a college town like Pullman, there are many young people who
will enter the work force as educated adults, and influence their respective
environments. If these young people can enter the outside world as well
rounded, and educated people when it comes to waste management, it
would have a much larger effect than just in Pullman. Climate change and
waste management is a worldwide problem, and therefore the solutions need
to spread and hopefully become worldwide as well.
I chose this project because I was raised in a city with a very large
emphasis on recycling and responsibility for the environment, so coming to
Pullman and noticing the lack of this attitude really shocked me. Some of the
statistics I found in doing preparatory research for this project really made it
clear to me just how serious the problem is. Here are a few statistics that I
found;
1. The average person generates over 4 pounds of trash every day and
about 1.5 tons of solid waste per year.

2. Americans make more than 200 million tons of garbage each year,
enough to fill Busch Stadium from top to bottom twice a day.
3. The EPA estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is
recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it.
4. We generate 21.5 million tons of food waste each year. If we
composted that food, it would reduce the same amount of greenhouse
gas as taking 2 million cars off the road.
5. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to listen to a full
album on your iPod. Recycling 100 cans could light your bedroom for
two whole weeks.
6. The Container Recycling Institute (CRI) estimates that the 36 billion
aluminum cans landfilled last year had a scrap value of more than
$600 million.
7. Americans throw away about 28 billion bottles and jars every year.
8. Over 87% of Americans have access to curbside or drop-off paper
recycling programs.
9. In 2009, Americans threw away almost 9 million tons of glass. That
could fill enough tractor trailers to stretch from NYC to LA (and back!).
10.

In 2010, paper recycling had increased over 89% since 1990.

11.
A glass container can go from a recycling bin to a store shelf in
as few as 30 days.

Research Methods:
Surveys: I surveyed 50 members of the Greek Community at WSU in
order to find out how they felt about waste treatment in Pullman and their
organizations current disposal methods.
Outreach: I met with employees of Pullman Disposal Services to get an
idea of pricing and accommodations available for use by Pullman citizens.
Online: Used the Internet to looks up statistics and information on the
subject, as well as to find local contacts whom I could contact for more
information.
Results:
I found, overall, that Recycling is actually extremely accessible in
Pullman, however, most organizations on College Hill just dont take

advantage of it. Pullman offers Glass, Plastic, Paper, Metal and Cardboard
recycling, and they do it for personal homes or for businesses (which is
where most Greek houses would lie). While their rates vary, I was able to
gather that most chapter houses pay $800-1000 per month, for garbage and
some minimal recycling, although they typically do not take advantage of the
recycling, even if they pay for it. Several fraternities I met with told me they
often pay over $500 in excess fees due to their dumpsters over-flowing with
garbage. This could be avoided if the bottles and cans were not in the trash,
but in the recycling instead.
Of the 50 people I surveyed, only 20% said that they thought the lack
of Recycling in Pullman was a problem. 40% said they had thought about
why their organization doesnt utilize recycling, and only 10% believed they
could save their organizations money by using a recycling program.
However, after I explained to them that they would in the long run be saving
money by using recycling, as well as helping the environment, 90% said they
believe they would want to implement a program for their group.
Conclusions:
I strongly believe that these programs should be implemented as soon
as possible all over College Hill, and once people understand the
benefits of doing so, it should be easy to get them to do it. These
programs are customizable for all different sizes of groups, so they are
affordable for everyone. One employee for Pullman Waste Disposal
estimated that if all students used recycling correctly, it would reduce
was in the College Hill neighborhood by roughly 60%.
The hardest part will be to get the first few groups to start the
program, but once that happens and other groups see how effective it
is, it should spread very quickly to all (or almost all) of the houses.
Recommendation:
I would like to recommend that all citizens of College Hill who have the
authority to make decisions regarding how their residence deals with
waste do the following;
Call Pullman Waste at (509)-334-1914
Get a personalized quote from them to find out how much it would cost
you per month, depending on what size of receptacles you need, and
how often it would be getting picked up.

Share with you friends the importance of utilizing the program you put
in place.
Start recycling!
Track how much money is being saved so that others can be convinced
to do the same.

Works Cited:
Research Proposal Luke Winsor, 4 October, 2015 accessed 9 October,
2015
"Recycling Info." Recycling Info. City of Pullman, n.d. Web. 04 Oct.
2015.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Municipal Solid Waste." Web
Accessed
April 25, 2015.
Indiana University. "Waste & Recycling." Web Accessed April 25, 2015.