On campus, there are separate bins for waste and recyclables, however, from looking at the black trash and blue recycle bins, it seems as if a lot of trash is being thrown in together.
Ricardo Morales, a student at Mercer who is a Communication major says, “I feel like people are lazy and they don’t wanna really throw things away in the right, or the correct containers.”
In many classrooms and along the walkways there is only one type bin, often a blue paper recycling bin, so without alternatives, students and staff seem to be discarding their waste and recyclables together.
In the county, the recycling percentage is 65 percent which just about meets the statewide goal, according to Daniel Napoleon, the Director of Environmental Programs at the Mercer County Improvement Authority.
Napoleon says, “In terms of education, I think the key for college campuses is to increase your signage…And also wherever there is a trash can, there should be a recycling container.”
Separating items and recycling, in general, has financial benefits.
In a case study conducted by the New Jersey WasteWise Business Network, it found that avoiding the cost of disposal is very cost-effective, “It will vary depending upon the fee charged for garbage disposal at the facility in your area, but in New Jersey with such disposal fees averaging over $80 per ton, the avoided the cost of disposal can be significant.”
On a statewide level, authorities are encourage recycling.
As reported by Recycling Today, “New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced Jan. 2 that local governments will share $14.3 million in grants to enhance recycling efforts in the state. The funds will be allocated based on
2016 recycling performance in various communities.”
One of these communities includes Hamilton Township, specifically receiving $150,719. It’s not clear what specific efforts Hamilton will undertake.
Valerine Cruz, a housekeeper at Mercer employed by the company ABM, says she keeps both recyclables and trash separated as instructed but is not responsible for taking out the garbage, as that duty is handled to someone else at night.
Cruz says, “In the morning, we check only the bathrooms and some offices. But in the night, they clean the classes, all the floors…But this is in the night.”
Marie Jermain, a chef at Mercer since 2017, says items at the kitchen are also separated in their own way.
She says, “Well, they have two dumpsters, like the regular garbage go in one thing, we have the cardboard go in the other one.” Grease is also separated, according to Jermain.
At Mercer, garbage trucks do come early in the morning on the allocated days to collect the garbage around the campus.
However, it is still unclear whether Mercer combines all trash together at the end of the day. It is clear that the problem of not having trash bins located beside recycle bins is causing people on campus to mix their waste.
