{ prima facie } the Temple Law newspaper

By Matt Hollow, 3L

I’ve put in my three years worth of time zoning out in class and loafing around Klein between classes. Unfortunately, my surprise is short-lived when I am jolted out of my hallway revelry whenever I see a seemingly intelligent, informed, Temple law student mindlessly chucks a glass, aluminum, or plastic container into the trash. More often than not, this mindless Americana method of disposal is carried out within sight of one of the many recycling containers placed throughout Klein Hall. See generally http://www.temple.edu/facilities/rechowto.htm [yeah, that’s Blue Book seeping into this article].

When throwing a plastic bottle into the trash, it doesn’t merely end up in a landfill. The bottle costs Temple money too. Recycling is about saving the earth, hugging trees, and hemp lollipops, sure. But for an institution like Temple it’s also about cutting costs.

Shipping waste to a landfill the school has to pay hauling costs and landfill fees. Shipping to a recycling center costs money too, but all those nickels for the cans noticeably offset the cost of waste disposal. Running a mail truck to Michigan didn’t work for Kramer and Newman, but they had the right idea. Recycling magically turns trash into a marketable product. Kazaam!

Temple University began recycling in 1989 when idealism outpaced practicality. Everyone agreed that recycling was important, but the infrastructure was incapable of meeting the demands of recyclers. For example, some recycling centers would not accept plastic. A recycler who threw everything into a single stream couldn’t use that facility. Virginia Arnsberger, of Temple’s Recycling Office, designed Temple’s recycling program and notes that Temple’s current system is a legacy of earlier days. At that time, a single-stream collection was not practical – a bag full dirty paper, glass, and plastic was not something a glass-only recycler wanted unless they were paid to take the plastic.

Newer models like the S.M.R.F. (Single-Stream Material Recovery Facility) now have the capacity to handle Mr. Nutter’s “all together now” one-bucket system. See generally http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls_Y7cadISc (proving how big of a nerd you are by watching the Science Channel’s M.R.F. video).

Philadelphia’s big S.M.R.F. is Blue Mountain behind the PathMark on Grays Ferry. According to Mrs. Arnsberger, Temple may begin utilizing the services of a S.M.R.F. For the past few months the Recycling Office has been considering a shift to a modified single-stream system. While paper wouldn’t be part of the gang, beverage containers (plastic, aluminum, glass) would be allowed together in one bin.

So the “waste” in the recycling bins is actually a product the university puts on the marketplace in an attempt to cut the costs of trash disposal. The quality of the recycling product depends on each individual’s contributions. By using the trashcan when we could use the recycling bins we’re using the most expensive mode of disposal, so save the earth and save some money too – Recycle!