Recycling results from CU’s recently completed fiscal year are in. A total of 1,265 tons of paper and containers were recycled between July, 1999 and June, 2000. This is an increase of over 150 tons from the preceding year. Campus-wide, over 30 percent of all waste was diverted from area landfills.

Jack DeBell, Director of CU Recycling, credits the successful year to the campus partners in recycling: Facilities Management, UCSU (student government), and increasingly, the Housing Department. DeBell also noted that student interest in recycling, particularly research and job opportunities, continues to energize the program.

In addition to recovering record amounts of material from campus, other significant CU Recycling accomplishments included:

• Acquiring grant funding for new recycling stations, a computer re-building project, and launch of a new state-wide materials exchange;
  
• Beginning the first year of a four year capital investment campaign by student government for improved campus operations like cardboard recycling, classroom recycling, textbook collections, and vermicomposting;
  
• Revising the Campus Master Plan to incorporate recycling in new building and remodeling projects;
  
• Designing the “Blueprint for a Green Campus” which, among other things, calls upon campus departments to purchase environmentally preferable products, revise campus vendor contracts, and cap the amount of solid waste entering landfills from CU.

CU Recycling is entering an exciting new era of comprehensive, yet cost-effective, waste reduction and recycling. To stay current with the program, subscribe to their e-mail listserver (email cure@stripe.colorado.edu with your request), call 303-492-8307, or visit their website: www.colorado.edu/cure.