Cardboard
Commingle
Sustainability at K
Environmental Responsibility has been a part of
the Kalamazoo College Honor Code since (date?).
Since then, and most notably in the past 5 years,
we have been constantly working to improve our
practices as a campus community. More often
than not, this movement has been led by students
like you.
Orange, Black
and GREEN
1992- The college officially integrated the
previously student initiated recycling program,
hiring “Recycle Rob” Townsend, a FacMan
landscaper who worked closely with the students,
to head it up full time allowing for expansion.
2004- D.I.R.T. garden
Mixed Paper
2004- The first ever Sustainability themed Living
Learning Unit came to be
2005- Farms to K
2006- Students rally for the L.E.E.D. certification
of the Hicks Center renovation
2007- Students persuade the President of the
College to sign the American College and
University Presidents Climate Commitment
Recycling and Sustainability
At Kalamazoo College
Newspaper
2007- Sustainability Guild
2008- Campus Energy Group
2008-2009
2008- 8 in ’08 campaign
www.kzoo.edu/recycle
Kalamazoo College Recycles
Kalamazoo College Reuses
Recyclemania
Who: Everyone! Students, Faculty and Staff—we
all recycle at K.
The R.E.P. Room: The R.E.P. Room is a studentrun Resource Exchange Program where you can
pick up gently used supplies and/or drop some
off—for FREE! You can find just about anything
there: paper, binders, folders, notebooks, pens,
lamps, staples, squirt guns, greeting cards, and
more! Located in the basement of DeWaters.
RecycleMania is a
friendly competition
and benchmarking
tool for college and university recycling programs
to promote waste reduction activities to their
campus communities. Over a 10 week period,
schools report recycling and trash data which are
then ranked according to who collects the largest
amount of recycling per capita, the largest
amount of total recyclables, the least amount of
trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate.
What: Everything we possibly can, which
includes:
COMMINGLE—glass of all colors, plastics (#1, #2,
#3, #4 and #5), metal cans and foils (including
spray cans, etc.)
CARDBOARD—corrugated (moving boxes)
MIXED PAPER—office paper, colored paper,
magazines, folders, envelopes, non-corrugated
cardboard (cereal boxes, cigarette boxes…)
NEWSPAPER
STYROFOAM
E-WASTE
What’s NOT recyclable: Tissue paper (including
napkins, toilet paper, facial tissue), candy
wrappers, condoms, greasy tops of Pizza boxes
(you can rip them off and still recycle the bottom
if it’s clean), wax paper, laminated paper (if it
doesn’t rip, it’s not recyclable).
Where: Look for the blue bins!
Every dorm room has a small
blue recycling bin. When taking
out your trash, bring your
recycling out, too, and sort it
into the labeled recycling
dumpsters. There are also
recycling bins of various sizes strategically placed
all over campus. Styrofoam can be placed in the
newspaper bin to be sorted out by the Recycling
Crew. E-waste can be taken to the R.E.P. room in
the basement of DeWaters.
More recycling tips at: www.kzoo.edu/recycle
The Kollege Depot: Looking for furniture? We’ve
got that, too! You can find used furniture and
larger appliances at garage sale prices in the
Kollege Depot, located in the basement of Dewing
(entrance by the “red square”).
H.U.B.: Helping to Understand Bikes
H.U.B. is a student initiated and run bike
borrowing, refurbishing, and maintenance
education program located in the basement of
DeWaters. Bike—don’t drive—today!
Reducing Waste at K
Reducing can be a challenge since consumption is
such an ingrained value in our society. Start small,
and tackle one habit at a time. Here are a few
ideas from past student initiatives:
Eliminating use of bottled water, and drinking
filtered tap water from a reusable water bottle
instead!
Turning off / Hibernating computers when not
in use.
Choosing double sided printing. Offered in most
computer labs on campus. Select: print, properties,
finishing, print on both sides.
More info on green initiatives: https://reason.kzoo.edu/green
Kalamazoo College has been participating in
RecycleMania since 2005, when we were one of 48
schools participating in the competition. Since
then, the competition has grown to include over
400 schools across the nation, and continues to
grow each year.
Last year, in the 2008
competition, Kalamazoo
College won 1st place in per
capita recycling and 1st place in
the Grand Champion category,
earning us the fabulous
trophy pictured left!