INTRODUCTION
The Associated Students Recycling Program is operated and funded by the students of the University of California, Santa Barbara in order to provide an efficient and long-lasting infrastructure that promotes sustainability and adapts with the progress of technology. The students of A.S. Recycling, UCSB are dedicated to bringing our campus, community and beyond relevant information about various environmental issues and their daily social, economic, and ecological impacts. A.S. Recycling strives to close the waste loop with the 4 R’s — refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle.
They’re also dedicated to having some fun along the way!
NEW SIGNAGE
Keeping up with the times, A.S. Recycling added some new signage to its various receptacles, aka “Berthas,” reflecting the changing recycling landscape. Because Santa Barbara County did mixed recycling, all hard plastics, glass, aluminum, and other recyclable materials could go in the bins to be recycled together.
Still students were reminded to check it out, because they do audits on their recycle bins to calculate how much waste is being diverted from the landfill and to do their part to keep contamination low by appropriately sorting their trash! For example, flimsy plastics (anything you can wrap around your wrist, like chip bags) are NOT recyclable. Plastic PLA 7 is COMPOSTABLE, but is also not recyclable!
E-WASTE RECYCLING
Recycling has bins for e-waste recycling at over 40 locations all over campus and partners with Santa Barbara County to make sure everyone has access to this special type of recycling for electronic gear and batteries, that could otherwise leak toxic chemicals into the local landfill and be damaging to humans and the environment. Common e-waste at UCSB includes small electronic devices, computers, monitors and toner cartages. Items like small appliance, all types of batteries and light bulbs can also be recycled on campus. In fact, AS Recycling picks up 400-600 pounds worth of just batteries each month! Over a year, that is equivalent to the weight of a GIRAFFE, around 6,000 pounds!
Batteries need to be properly handled, and should never be thrown away in regular trash and recycling. They can be taken to Recycling drop off bins on campus, and should be placed in the specially marked bin if available. If you are a Santa Barbara resident with trash service, you have access to battery and cell phone recycling at home.
You can place household batteries and old cell phones in a plastic bag (e.g. Ziploc) on top of (not inside) their blue bin. Batteries will be picked up on the regular collection day.
MORE GOOD ADVICE
During fall quarter dead week the folks at Recycling had this to say:
“Hope your dead week is going great, Gauchos! If you know you’ll be drinking a lot of coffee and grabbing a lot of prepackaged snacks, here is a tip for making an easy environmental difference to boost your mood before finals! Coffee cups at vendors across campus, from the store at Buchanan to the Arbor to the Ucen all use compostable coffee cup! Additionally, many salads and snacks packaged by UCen dining options are actually compostable too! Check your plastics, if they say PLA 7 on the bottom that means they are compostable, and should be put in the big yellow bins and solar compactors found nearby food vendors!” Good advice indeed!
UC-WIDE ZERO WASTE 2020 KICK-OFF EVENT
Of course A.S. Recycling was onboard for this effort! In fact they sorted and audited ton so waste from Bren Hall as part of the event open to the public. They bring these sorting skills to a host of events throughout the year. And, when they can educate the public along the way.
As part of AS’s “AS Is” informational campaign Recycling also got a new poster. They chose resourceful as the word that best describes how they get things done across campus!
A.S. RECYCLING AT SANTA BARBARA EARTH DAY
AS Recycling was part of the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival! People came to visit their booth both days of the festival weekend, April 22-23 for some recycling games, earth-friendly crafts, and a great time!
WORN WEAR FESTIVAL
During spring quarter, AS Recycling called on students to attend the Patagonia Worn and Wear College Tour and stop in for a visit at their booth. The tour stop was hosted by the AS Zero Waste Committee, Post Landfill Action Network, and Patagonia. Here’s the invitation:
Calling all crafty folk! Do you have old t-shirts that you never wear but are too nostalgic to get rid of them? Want to turn that old band t-shirt from high school into a trendy new bag?
Come out to AS Recycling’s booth at this WEDNESDAY’s WORN WEAR FESTIVAL where we will be teaching you how to make a tote bag perfect for school, grocery shopping, and more from an old t-shirt! From 11-4pm in front of the SRB, Patagonia’s Worn Wear van will be here to repair any garments you have to promote reuse and repair instead of throwing out old clothes. Many on-campus orgs will be there with fun games, prizes, and tips on how to keep your favorite garments in good shape!
EARTH DAY FESTIVITIES IN ISLA VISTA
Of course, Recycling also participated in the Isla Vista Earth Day Festival the weekend following the festivities in Santa Barbara. Lots of folks came out to enjoy live music, tasty sustainable food, and great opportunities to network and learn about the environmental orgs at UCSB. AS Recycling tabled and handed out their popular reusable utensil sets.
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