Recycling

In October of 1989, Saint Michael's College entered the wonderful world of Recycling under the leadership of Mae Harrington, Associate Director of Custodial Services.  Today, recycling at the college has greatly expanded and is fully integrated into all operations of the college under the direction of Physical Plant and the Sustainability Coordinator.

*Recycling is being enforced for all Staff and Faculty*  effective August 17, 2009

*Recycling Guidelines For all Members of the campus community*  March 2009

*Recycling Guidelines Notice to all Staff and Faculty of Saint Michael's College*  March 2009

What can be recycled at Saint Michael's?
Located in Chittenden County, the college adheres to the recycling guidelines of the Chittenden Solide Waste District, which has recently switched to an easy all-in-one system (all recycleables may be placed in the same bin: your glass, plastics, metal cans, mixed paper etc.. can be placed in the same recycling bin together!). Items that can be placed in any recycling container on campus include:

  • Metal Cans -- tin cans, empty aerosol cans, aluminum cans, foil, & pie plates (the college has a separate dumpster for scrap metal, contact the Sustainability Coordinator for more information)
  • Glass Bottles & Jars -- all glass food & beverage containers (any color)
  • Plastic Bottles & Containers (#1-7) --any plastic container/bottle with the number 1-7 may be recycled; examples include: milk jugs, soda bottles, detergent bottles, etc..
  • Mixed Paper/Cardboard/Paperboard -- examples include: post-it notes, magazines/catalogs, phone books, envelopes, cereal boxes, paper bags, 6-12 pack boxes, paper egg cartons, etc...

Dowload a list of all the items that can be recycled.

Don't get caught throwing away recycleable items by President Jack Neuhauser; place all recycleables in the designated blue bins! (Pictured: President Jack Neuhauser and Dan Sandberg '09; no paper was harmed in the recycling demonstration above, it was properly reused and then recycled).

Residents at Saint Michael's College: Where/How do you recycle on campus?
Blue-bins are being placed in each Residence Hall room (thanks to the help of Paul Shaw and his great crew.  For all apartments (townhouses, Hodson and Ethan Allen), there should be a blue CSWD bin near your doorway or in your broom closet (if there isn't, contact Heather at hellis@smcvt.edu to get one).  All students living in the Residence Halls empty their recycling bins in the recycling room either located on their floor or in your building if not on each floor (your Resident Assistant will tell you where this room is during the move-in week).  For those living in the apartments, you can empty your recycling bins in the big Recycling Dumpsters (look for Recycling Only sticker) located next to the trash dumpsters.  For those living at the far end of the TH300s as well as Hodson, use the blue toters located next to your trash dumpsters. 

Also look for blue recycling containers scattered about in each campus building and in EVERY classroom! 

Recycle your Batteries and Printer Cartridges!
In addition to the items listed above, we also have a battery and cartridge recycle program.  Batteries can be deposited in clear plastic containers labeled "Battery Recycling." These containers can be found at most public copier machines scattered about campus.

Printer cartridges (ink/laser jets, toner) can be deposited in 4 drop-off areas in the RED buckets. Drop-off locations are:

  1. Alliot Student Center -- on top of the cubbies in front of the dining hall
  2. IT Help Desk office -- Saint Edmund's Hall, Room 221
  3. Durick Library -- near the elevator on the main floor
  4. North Campus -- Sustainability Coordinator's Office, located in Building 1410 (Recycling Building)

We are working with the eCycle Group for the cartridge recycling program. Once cartridges are collected from drop-off locations, they will be sent to the eCycle Group who will then distribute them to quality remanufacturers who will then refurbish and refill them for resale, keeping them out of the landfill. 

Computer & Electronic Recycling
We recycle any and all computers and electronic appliances.  The drop-off location is on North Campus in Building 1410. If you are unable to bring the objects to Building 1410, call the Sustainability Coordinator (654.2733) and she'll help you recycle them.

Used Text-Book Recycling
The Saint Michael's College Bookstore and the MOVE office join forces towards the end of each semester during book buy-back at the Bookstore.  Turn in all books not accepted at book buy-back and help support Habitat for Humanity (items also accepted: novels, CDs, and DVDs).  To donate, simply drop off your items in the box provided in the Bookstore.

Catalog Waste Reduction
Many companies send you catalogs until you tell them to stop.  Eliminating such mailings reduces material use and saves the backs of the good folks in the mail room.

SOLUTION:
1) Visit the company website and either e-mail them, or use the web link  that many provide to have your address removed from their mailing list.
2) Then (after removing yourself from the mailing list) visit this site that will record your efforts in reducing our paper waste by one more catalog

Fun Saint Michael's College Recycling Facts

  • The College recycles 1,000 pounds of batteries each year
  • The College recycles 550 gallons of fuel
  • The College recycles 2,500 lbs of light bulbs (thanks to the bulb-exchange initiated by Green Up)
   


Did you know?

Recycling just 3/4 of your household waste would reduce your carbon footpring by 3,600 lbs per year!!

The amount of oil saved by recycling your cartridges could reduce your carbon footrbint by 38 lbs of carbon dioxide!  Just imagine how much the college's carbon footprint could be reduced if every staff, faculty and student recycled their cartridges!

Using reusable containers (such as tupperware for left-overs or lunch items) reduces an individual's carbon footrping by 16 lbs in a year.

Using plastic bags will add 99 lbs of carbon to your carbonfootprin (or more if you use lots of plastic).  BYOB - bring your own bag - when you go to the grocery store or other store. 

Purchasing bottled water adds 110 lbs to your carbon footrpint.  Use a reusable bottle for water,

("The Environmental Equation," by Alex Shimo-Barry, 2008)