Kristen
Otterbein University
All of my waste from the first half of the day is
shown here: paper towels from hand drying and a granola bar wrapper (Nature’s Path Organic!) I also
had a couple of pieces of candy later, but I forgot to include the wrappers in the picture.
I thought that might be all of my waste for today… but then I headed over to the research lab and ran
into my friend Curtis. I had told him earlier in the day about the challenge of collecting garbage, and had
suggested he try it out. He had collected a decent pile for me! I usually eat dinner in the campus center,
but tonight we decided to go to Chipotle. That definitely increased our waste for today.
The picture to the left shows most of our Chipotle
waste (bag, foil and foil container, cups, straws, lids,
forks, and napkins). He also had accumulated some
other things throughout the day. Here is the list of the
items he had:
-paper for doing homework problems
-some nearly expired coupons
-receipts
-paper cup for coffee (from Crimson Cup)
-various other little pieces of paper
-wrappers from Clif bar and crackers
-gum and wrappers
-he also didn’t finish all of his food, so some of that was
thrown away
I also did some research work tonight, which generated some unusual waste. The waste I generated is a
biohazard (unidentified bacteria, potential human pathogens) so the toothpicks, pipet tips, and petri
plates absolutely must go into the trash after being autoclaved (heat sterilized).
Here is the waste from today that could not be recycled. Some of the scientific
waste is shown. Also, I know the lids for the drinks say they are recyclable, but
that is polystyrene, and from what I've heard there isn't a real market for that
stuff.
Here is my list of waste for the day:
Paper towels
Nature’s path granola bar wrapper
Candy wrappers
Petri plates
Pipet tips
Toothpicks
Bag, foil, and cup plus lid from Chipotle
We didn’t use the napkins so we’ll save them
for later.
The total recyclable waste for us is pictured to
the right:
I estimated about ½-2/3 of the total items
collected between the two of us items were recyclable.
I realized today that a lot of non-recyclable items are related to food. Food wrappers are usually a sort
of weird material that can’t be recycled. Plus, once food gets on those items they can’t be recycled
unless the food residue is removed (which can be impossible for things like greasy pizza boxes). By
reading the SWACO recycling guidelines (below), I learned that plastic containers without a neck are not
accepted for recycling. The stuff I threw away today is going to sit in a landfill forever, never
decomposing. There are a lot of possible alternative ways to package things to prevent waste. Buying in
bulk is good (to minimize packaging), and bringing your own beverage container (rather than using the
paper cups) would be a good place to start.
http://www.swaco.org/
Here is the list of residential recyclable items. They have other areas of the website for programs to get
rid of paint, clothing, etc.


Plastic: All Plastic Bottles #1-7 Accepted. Labels and caps do not need to be removed.
Glass: Clear, Brown, Green and Blue Glass Bottles and Jars in which food products are

packaged. Labels do not need to be removed. Please rinse all containers.
Paper: Newspaper with Ad Slicks, Magazines, Phone Books, Brown Grocery Bags, Frozen Food

Boxes, "Junk" Mail, Chip Board, Corrugated Cardboard, Office Paper.
Carton Containers: Gable-Top Containers and/or Paperboard Containers containing items
such as Milk, Juice, Fabric Softner, Egg Substitute Containers, Soups, Stocks and
Broths. Please rinse all containers.

Metals: Aluminum and Bi-Metal Beverage Cans, Steel Food/Tin Cans, Aluminum Foil, Empty
Aerosol Cans. Labels do not need to be removed. Please rinse all containers.
Here are the items that are exceptions to the above list: these are NOT accepted.

Plastic Containers that DO NOT have a Bottle Neck: Yogurt cups and other cups/containers
that DO NOT have a neck. Plastic toys, any type of plastic bag, plastic films and bubble wrap

ARE NOT accepted for recycling.
Glass: Ceramics, Window or Drinking Glass, Light Bulbs and/or any other glass not in the

shape of a container.
Egg Cartons: Polystyrene foam (styrofoam) and paper egg cartons ARE NOT accepted for

recycling.
Drink Pouches: Drink Pouches typically made of or lined with foil and plastic ARE NOT

accepted for recycling.
Metals: Paint Cans, Coat Hangers, Steel Scraps and/or any other metal not in the shape of a
container IS NOT accepted for recycling.