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Recycling at StanfordHistory
Students started the recycling program at Stanford University in 1978 as class project. Eventually, ASSU assumed responsibility for collections. PSSI often helped the students by loaning bins and equipment. In 1991, PSSI was asked
to operate the recycling program and continues to do so today.
Overall ProgramStanford University has a comprehensive waste reduction and diversion program. We recycle glass, metal, plastic, paper, yard waste, food waste, wood waste, electronic scrap, concrete, and construction and demolition waste. In addition, fallen trees are ground into wood chips, tree trimmings are chipped into mulch, and the Grounds Department practices grasscycling by leaving grass clippings on the grass.Below provides a description of our paper and bottles and cans collection. For more on the organics program, please click here to go to the Rot Page. Material CollectedThe first of the three chasing arrow in the recycling symbol represents the supply of recyclable materials placed in therecycling bins. We have three streams of recyclable materials coming to our facility. First is corrugated cardboard which is collected in green frontloader dumpsters outside of most buildings. Second is mixed paper which includes all paper that tears and is not contaminated by food or oil. Mixed paper is collected in carts or slim jim bins throughout the campus usually near high generating areas such as copiers and mail boxes. Lastly, bottles and cans are collected in carts or slim jim bins throughout the campus. The following can be placed in these bins: aseptic containers, aluminum and tins cans, aluminum foil, glass bottles and jars, juice/milk cartons, and plastic #1 PETE, #2 HDPE bottles and containers and plastic #3-7 bottles. Plastic bags and bubble wrap are also collected at five locations on campus and are also allowed in our mixed paper bins so that the material stays dry.Some of the items not recycled on campus include polystyrene, Pyrex, test tubes, and ceramic mugs.
CollectionsAfter the recyclable material is placed in the recycling bin, PSSI crews collect the material. Corrugated cardboard is collected with a frontloader truck that used to collect garbage. The plastic wheeled carts and slim jim bins containing mixed paper or bottles and cans are emptied weekly by a two person crew and a special frontloader truck that has two compartments - one for mixed paper and one for bottles and cans.
Processing
MarketsOnce the material has been sorted and cleaned of contamination, we sell it to local vendors. The materials are delivered using roll-off trucks.Paper
Metal
Glass
Plastics Plastics must be separated into the seven types of consumer plastics. All plastics cannot be melted together because they have different melting points. Each kind of plastic has different properties that makes it desirable as a packaging, i.e. it may hold up well in cold temperatures, it may keep out odors, or it may not allow carbon dioxide to escape. The number inside chasing arrows on the bottom of the container does not mean that the container is recyclable, it only identifies the type of plastic it is made of. Locally, plastic #1 and #2 are widely recyclable and new, but small markets are opening up for plastics #3-7, mainly plastic lumber. The only way for more plastics to be recyclable is for more manufacturers to use recycled plastic in their manufacturing process to make new products. It used to be that there was not enough demand for recycled plastics, but the tide is turning. The domestic manufacturers who use recycled plastics to make new products are very concerned that there is not enough plastics to meet their needs since the demand for this material off-shore is so high. DiversionIn 1994, Stanford University diverted 31% of its waste from the landfill. In 2000, we were diverting 50% of our waste from the landfill. In 2004, we diverted 60% of our waste! Thanks to campus community Stanford has been able to increase its diversion level every year. Future projects include food waste composting, expanding bottles and cans recycling, and expanding electronic scrap recycling.Click here to see our progress. Benefits of RecyclingRecycling has many positive attributes to society including conservation of natural resources, a cleaner environment, reduction of landfill deposits, and expansion of an industry that can create thousands of jobs in California in the years ahead. 9 jobs are created for every 15,000 tons of solid waste recycled into a new product whereas only 1 job is created for every 15,000 tons to the landfill. In addition, recycling contributing $8 billion to the national economy. In California alone created 34,000 jobs and contributed over $1.6. billion to economy.For more information on the environmental benefits of recycling at Stanford, click here. Big Picture IssuesThere are many issues at large that affect Stanford University's recycling program.Closing the Loop/Buy RecycledIf the true potential of recycling as both an environmental protection and economic stimulus is to be realized, consumers are the answer. With increase demand for recycled content products, the value of recycle material may outstrip the cost of recycling. This in turn will foster business dedicated to the environment and manufacture of recycled-content products. If you are not buying recycled products, you are not recycling because you are not closing the loop or completing the process. Buy Recycled - you are sending messages to the companies of the product you buy. Direct your power. For information on buying recycled paper, click here.Zero WasteAccording to GrassRoots Recycling Network (GRRN), "Zero Waste is a goal, a philosophy, a design principle, a process, a whole system approach, which aims to conserve the earth's diminishing resources, prevent rather than manage waste, convert discarded materials into products and jobs instead of trash, and replace incinerators, landfills and dumps with sustainable enterprises that offer employment and foster local self-reliance. Learn more about Zero Waste on GRRN's website at www.grrn.org/zerowaste/zerowaste_index.html.Creating Jobs from DiscardsThe philosophy of Zero Waste creates jobs from discards by viewing used materials as valuable resources instead of garbage in need of disposal. A pile of "trash" represents jobs, financial opportunity, and raw material for new products, as recycling industries create many more jobs than waste disposal companies. Research shows that, per ton, sorting and processing recyclables alone sustains ten times more jobs than landfilling or incineration. Some recycling-based paper mills and recycled plastic product manufacturers employ 60 times more workers on a per-ton basis than do landfills. Check out "Zero Waste: A New Systems Approach Gaining Global Ground" to see the source of this information and to learn more about jobs from discards and zero waste.End Tax Subsidies on Virgin MaterialsFederal tax and spending subsidies for timber, mining, energy and waste disposal discourage recycling. Welfare for Waste: How Federal Taxpayer Subsidies Waste Resources and Discourage Recycling, a report released in 1999 by GrassRoots Recycling Network, Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Materials Efficiency Project and Friends of the Earth, identifies 15 tax and spending subsidies pouring $13 billion over 5 years, or an average of $2.6 billion a year, into industries that compete directly with recycling. These are conservative estimates and do not include billions of dollars more in state and local subsidies. These subsidies give companies that use virgin materials, such as timber, oil and mineral resources, and waste disposal industries, an unfair advantage over recycling companies. Resource-efficient recycling and reuse businesses, which tend to be smaller, community-based and run by entrepreneurs, struggle against subsidized competitors. Favoritism to virgin materials originated in the late 1800's with federal and state subsidies intended to develop the American West. But these policies are dangerously outmoded and have the effect today of wasting taxpayer money, encouraging environmental destruction, pollution, lost job opportunities, and trashing of resources. Current demand for energy and natural resources, many of which are non-renewable, cannot continue without fostering ever greater environmental and economic degradation. Eliminating these subsidies is an essential step toward creating a more level playing field on which recycling can compete. It conserves resources and saves taxpayer dollars at the same time. To read the Welfare for Waste report, click here.)SustainabilityIn October 1999, world population passed the 6 billion people mark. The number of people living on our planet is growing at an extremely rapid rate, as world population reached one billion in 1804, three billion in 1960 and then doubled in just 40 years to 6 billion before the year 2000 (Environmental News Service). Population growth forces the planets limited resources to provide for more people, as demand for food, water and other necessities increase. A study by the Sri Lanka based International Irrigation Management Institute predicted that one fourth of the world's people will face chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water by the year 2050. Crop lands continue to shrink, and global per capita grain output has been stagnant for more than a decade (Environmental News Service).To achieve a sustainable future, we must not only control population growth but also reduce consumption in industrialized countries. While America has fewer people than many undeveloped countries, we have a significant impact on the planet because Americans use many more resources than the people of undeveloped countries. For example, Americans use about 100 gallons of water per person per day for personal purposes such as drinking, cooking, washing, and disposing of wastes, compared to a world average of 22 gallons per person per day. Including irrigation and all other uses, Americans use 1,350 gallons per person per day, much higher than the worldwide average of 475 gallons (Water Resources: Agriculture, the Environment and Society). Even though Americans account for only 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. consumes 26% of the world's energy and create 25% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions (American Almanac, New Consumers). The nations of the world must join together to control population growth and reduce consumption to prevent environmental destruction and ensure a healthy planet for ourselves and future generations.
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Glass is further cleaned to remove contaminants, crushed into a powdery form, heated until it becomes liquid, and then remolded into a new product. Contaminants such as plate glass, ceramics, and rock are a considerable problem for glass processors because they can cause major defects in the final glass product. Paper labels are not a problem because they burn off in the process. What is glass made of? Glass is made from old glass (called cullet), sand, limestone, and soda ash. The markets for glass have been steadily declining since most of the products that used to be in glass containers are now in plastic containers. Glasphault is made when glass is mixed with asphalt to make a road surface more reflective.
Once plastics have been sorted into the different types, they are chipped into small pieces and then put through a water bath to remove contaminant stuck to the plastic. Once they are cleaned, they are heated to a liquid form and put through
a extruder that turns them into small plastic pellets which are then shipped to a company that makes them into a new products.