Collegeshowsconfusionover recyclepolicies,orlackthereof

by Kelly Ann Monahan staff writer

Students who are not aware of Cabrini's recycling policy are not alone.

Campus offices that are supposed to recycle do not know what they are supposed to do.

Cabrjni is supposed to recycle office paper, cardboard and • aluminum.

Judy Fozo, manager of the food court, is not aware of any recycling policy on campus.

"I do not know of any office on campus that recycles office paper or aluminum. I am not aware of recycling in the past, either," Fozo said.

Pennsylvania state law requires each college to recycle at least three items.

The procedure for recycling at Cabrini involves three main steps.

The first is housekeeping picking up paper and cardboard from an outside location near buildings such as the Widener Center and Grace Hall.

The next step involves a vendor taking recyclable materials to a dumpsite located in the Grace Hall parking lot.

The hauler, Browning Ferris Industries, then picks up the materials and relocate, them to a Conshohocken recycling center.

According to Mike Caranfa, chief facilities officer for physical plant, aluminum from the campus is only recycled two to three times a year at the recycling center due to the lack of storage space on campus.

Offices on campus can store recyclable paper in various forms of boxes or cans.

And the cardboard?

"They do not have to be conscious of cardboard because housekeeping knows where it goes," Caranfa said.

Offices on campus requiring exceptions to the three-step recycling agenda include the library, which recycles paper by feeding it back into the printer, and the registrar, where most paper is shredded because its content is confidential.

But a small amount of recyclable material is left over in the library each day. What happens to this?

"I was under the impression that we were not recycling on campus at all. If Cabrini is, I'd be happy to do it," Karen Karlsen, assistant registrar, said.

According to Steve Murphy, facilities operations manager for physical plant, the dorms and housing on campus are not recycling as a result of lack of space.

Murphy would like to implement a more successful program on campus.

"The program can be expanded considerably. It can be better than it is and more organized," Murphy said.

Murphy attributes the lack of knowledge of Cabrini's recycling policy to the turnover of employees on campus.