kellydrummond January 20th, 2012
Terracycle is a program that was started in the middle of the Fall 2011 semester here at SUNY New Paltz and has quickly gained recognition around campus. Terracycle is a company that sponsors the recycling of items that are not usually recycled such as chip bags, candy wrappers, drink pouches, etc. The three collection bins around campus are located on the first floor of the Student Union building, the first floor of Hasbrouck Dining Hall, and the Backstage Café at Parker Theater.
Recycling Club and I collected the chip bags about every two weeks since the bins were introduced and have noticed considerable progress. At the first collection the bin in the Student Union Building had 15 chip bags and the bin in Hasbrouck Dining Hall had 16 chip bags. We collected 25 chip bags from the Student Union Terracycle bin and 27 from the one in Hasbrouck Dining Hall. At the final collection of the semester the Student Union bin had 41 chip bags, the Hasbrouck Dining Hall bin had 62 chip bags, and the Parker Theater bin had 10 chip bags. Overall we have collected 196 chip bags! Since the bins were first put out 2 out of 3 bins have had at least 10 more chip bags at the second and third collections.
In the Spring 2012 semester we are looking to expand the Terracycle program to the residence halls and increase awareness of the program around campus. I think the program has been a great success and will continue to succeed this semester and we have saved 196 chip bags from going to a landfill! These bags will be used to make tote bags, messenger bags, and 3 ring binders. Also with each bag saved we receive $0.02 per bag that can be donated to a variety of charities on the Terracycle website. Through recycling items usually thrown away Terracycle has raised over $3 million for charity! To check out more information go to: www.terracycle.net
kellydrummond January 3rd, 2012
Hello New Paltz Recycles fans!
Happy New Year! A good way to start off the new year is to make some New Years resolutions. In this blog post I thought I would post ten different ideas for green resolutions. Even adopting one of these resolutions can help make a difference.
Ten Green Resolutions:
1. Join Recycling Club.
2. Recycle all of your glass bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, and electronics.
3. Use eco-friendly cleaning products.
4. Shut off lights when leaving a room.
5. Carpool more often.
6. Use reusable sandwich bags or Tupperware and a reusable lunch bag to carry your lunch.
7. Read more articles online instead of printing them out.
8. Take shorter showers to conserve water.
9. Make a compost pile.
10. Start a garden.
These are a few small steps toward becoming more sustainable and going green! Good luck!
kellydrummond November 20th, 2011
The Sustainable Craft Fair is back!
Last year Recycling Club hosted the first annual Sustainable Craft Fair and it was such a success we are bringing it back this year. The Sustainable Craft Fair has all student vendors who have made crafts out of reused or recycled materials. Some of the crafts include earrings made out of bottle caps, wall decorations made out of aluminum cans, pendants, magnets, and more! At this year’s fair we will be giving away mini-cupcakes from Moxie Cupcakes and tote bags for the first 100 guests.
We are also having a sculpture contest where the sculptures will be made out of recycled materials and each person who attends will be able to vote for their favorite! If you would still like to enter the sculpture contest or find out more information please email newpaltzrecycles@gmail.com. The first place prize is $100 to Manny’s!
The 2nd Annual Sustainable Craft Fair is on December 1st from 3pm to 7pm in SU 100, all are welcome!
kellydrummond October 17th, 2011
Hello Green Thinking Blog readers! I am Kelly Drummond and I am the new president of Recycling Club and the recycling coordinator for the campus. I have been a member of the club for a year now and have an active interest in the environment, recycling, and sustainability. I am working towards making positive changes on this campus and I am very excited to be the new recycling coordinator.
This semester I have already begun with evaluating the recycling rooms in all of the residence halls on campus. I plan to have each one contain important and easy to read recycling instructions and make sure each bin is properly labeled. Recycling Club and I have also started a Terracycle program and will be distributing collection boxes in Hasbrouck dining hall, the Student Union building, and Backstage Cafe at Parker Theatre within the next two weeks. We are thrilled to start this program because we will be collecting chip bags which are normally just thrown away. We collect the chip bags and send them off to Terracycle where they will become handbags, backpacks, binders, picture frames, and more! By collecting these bags we will both be reducing the waste produced on campus and putting that material to good use. To learn more about Terracycle please go to: www.terracycle.net to read all about it!
Also, if you have any interest in joining Recycling Club we meet on Wednesdays at 7:30pm in SU408. We always welcome fresh ideas and new faces!
Lauren Brois September 11th, 2011
Interested in joining the recycling crew?
This is a meeting for anyone interested in joining Recycling Club. This club is not only focused on recycling but concerned with environmental issues and making improvements on the SUNY New Paltz campus.
Recycling Club is fun as well as interesting and we are looking for more people to join this year. Everyone has opinions and we would love to hear them so please come to our general interest meeting to see what we’re all about!
If you have any questions feel free to write on the event wall or email us at: newpaltzrecycles@gmail.com
There is also another general interest meeting on 9/14 at 7:30pm in SU 408 so if that time/date works better for you then let us know or come to both if you like!
GI MEETING Monday, September 19 · 7:30pm – 8:30pm SU 408
