When Harper College officials started discussing recycling eight years ago, they weren`t just talking trash.
The effort has grown from turning in a few pounds of scrap metal for pennies, into a full-fledged program that involves collection of every type of waste imaginable, as well as purchases of recycled products in volumes that far exceed state mandates.
”We started with metal that maintenance had to get rid of . . . like if someone ran over a light post,” said Donald DeBiase, director of Harper`s physical plant. ”Then we went on to newspapers . . . and slowly got into aluminum can recycling.”
The junior college recently started recycling plastic foam food containers, adding to a long list of materials including copy paper, cardboard, chemicals, tires, batteries and medical waste, said Chuck Gura, grounds staff supervisor.
Gura and Jon DeJonker, custodial staff supervisor, say that keeping the programs running smoothly has been quite a challenge, mainly because students are not careful to throw certain trash items in their designated containers, requiring Harper janitorial workers to spend hours separating refuse.
”It`s tough,” DeJonker said. ”You`re trying to get people to do things they`re not used to doing.”
But the savings make up for that hardship, they contend.
Before the school started recycling, it spent an estimated $52,000 a year to have 2,544 cubic yards of garbage removed, Gura said. Currently, it costs the college $13,000 to have 1,279 cubic yards of refuse hauled. Further, Gura said, Harper receives money for recyclables such as metal and certain types of paper.
Another phase of Harper`s program is the purchase of recycled paper goods, which are less costly than new materials, DeBiase said.
The state requires institutions such as Harper to buy at least 10 percent recycled paper, including toilet tissue and typing paper, he said. According to Vicki Rowe, who works in Harper`s Purchasing Department, the college recycled paper purchases exceed 80 percent.
But, DeBiase said, Harper`s program is about more than money: ”We`re trying to help with the amount of trash that goes into the landfill.”
