UNC Recycling Rates Up to 40 Percent
by Elizabeth Crumpler

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is turning trash into treasure as it expands its recycling programs on campus. Blue plastic recycling bins are common on campus. They are now at athletic events such as baseball games, helping UNC-CH sports fans to do their part for the environment.

Construction projects at UNC-CH haven’t been left out of the recycling effort, either. The old floors of Woolen Gym have been incorporated into the new Rams Head Center on campus. Even the old slate roofing on Phillips Hall has found its way into building renovation plans.

Efforts like these have helped on-campus recycling rates to rise to 40 percent. Waste Reduction Coordinator Jen Maxwell said these initiatives help raise environmental consciousness campus.

“Students being offered these options on campus, like new athletics recycling and reuse on campus with the Woolen Gym floor,” Maxwell said. “I think that it’s just an opportunity for them to become more aware.”

For more information on recycling opportunities at UNC-CH, go to the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling web site.