Why is recycling on campus shrouded in mystery and confusion?

Wofford takes pride in its reputation of sustainability and environmental friendliness. The Galleria in the Michael S. Brown Village Center was designed to direct the campus in an eco-oriented manner, and to increase Wofford’s ability to recycle food waste, cardboard and single stream post-consumer items (i.e. single use plastics).

The college is also one of five higher educational ENERGY STAR Partners in the state, and “aspires to protect the environment by continuous improvement of energy performance.”

Wofford is transparent with collected data that relates to environmental impact especially in the “Wofford College Energy and Sustainability” story-board that can be found online at the energy dashboard under the facilities menu. (https://buildingos.com/s/wofford/storyboard287/?chapterId=1294)

However, no plan for sustainability is perfect. For instance, the recycling bins across campus all have different appearance and markings, students are left to wonder what items are accepted recyclables, or even if Wofford sends these materials to be recycled. With mismatched recycling bins, it can become more difficult to discern what kind of items are acceptable for which bins. And oftentimes if a recycling bin contains too many items that aren’t accepted by local recycling processing centers, the more likely the rest of the items in the recycling bin will end up in a landfill.

So, what can the Wofford community do to correct these confusions? It is most important to understand what the campus will actually send to be recycled. Currently, the list of accepted recyclable items includes plastics 1 and 2, unsoiled cardboard and aluminum.

And while it may be frustrating that recycling options are limited on campus, other places near campus accept a wider variety of items. Big blue bins can be found in the downtown area of Spartanburg where you can recycle a wide range of materials such as mixed paper products, cardboard, plastic containers, and aluminum/steel cans. The Publix Super Market has outdoor recycling bins set aside specifically for un-soiled foam, plastic bags, and paper bags.