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“Waste” is the word that humans use to describe the phenomenon of unwanted and disregarded materials. On average, every American creates 4.38 pounds of waste per day and recycles only 1/3 of it! Yet, the more we evolve as human beings, the more we begin to listen and become in tune with nature’s cycles. In nature, EVERYTHING is life-sustaining for something else. So we, as humans, are working to take a cue from Mother Nature to find creative ways to deal with our waste. We have also begun to learn that waste-reduction is good for the economy. An estimated 10-25 jobs are created with every 10,000 tons of recycled material, depending on the type of industry used to process the recyclables. Up to 300 jobs are created when products are properly reused (as with computers and electronics).
So, given these benefits, the UT Austin community should be very proud that we have already recycled over 100 tons of waste per month since Single Stream Collection started on campus!
What’s next? Our next step is to standardize the labeling and messaging about recycling throughout campus. Stay tuned for our new Zero Waste website and keep your eye out for new signage. If you are interested in helping us double our recycling rate, another of our immediate goals, please send me an email saying “I want to make Zero Waste a reality for UT Austin” and I’ll make sure to notify you when specific opportunities to get involve arise. I hope to see some of you at the University Unions Waste Audit at the SAC tomorrow, which will help us understand how to best implement comprehensive recycling and composting services on campus.
Remember, every time you refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle, you become more efficient and help us reach our Zero Waste goals.
At your service,
Daniela Ochoa Gonzalez
Zero Waste Coordinator
do@austin.utexas.edu
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