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>>Theresa Bierer: Northern Arizona University has long been a leader in sustainability and
one of the simpler ways to become greener is through recycling. Inside NAU's Ananda
Robie has the story >>Ananda Robie: Recently the President's Innovation
Fund awarded 20 thousand dollars for changes in recycling and education.
>>Amy Anderson: We are going to be putting labels on trash cans, one that says recycling
one that says trash >>Jan Kerata: What about this one, there is
no number plastics on it. Forget that. And foam we know is not good but this we have
a six on the lid and this is rigid, so we could recycle this, not the cup though
>>Robie: NAU has a contract with the city, who has been collecting trash and recycling.
>>Heather Farley: So by labeling different cans, not only are we keeping our way stream
cleaner so that the recyclables are all recyclables in one bag, but we also help that education
piece for people so that they actually see the green recycling label and see that they're
recycling their materials. >>Robie: Now that trash bins are labeled for
recycling or land fill waste, people on campus need to know how to use them
>>Kerata: We are encouraging generators like you and I, to take trash to a common area,
which would either be a break room or the bathroom and to consistently place your recyclables
in your containers at your desk side. So that everything at your desk is recyclable.
>>Robie: At NAU most plastics are recyclable along with papers, cardboards, and metals.
But soiled items should go in the land fill. >>Anderson: So since it has too much food
on it, it's not recyclable >>Kerata: So if you're going to recycle the
cardboard you should separate it from there. >>Robie: Based on a one week audit last year,
the university is recycling about 600 tons a year. A figure some would like to see double
with the new system >>Kerata: That's a good goal for campus, I
think the bigger picture of the innovation funding is that I would like to see all of
campus waste reduction efforts involved So that we know how much green waste is being
kept out of the land fill Robie: Keeping that stream cleaner will facilitate
recycling which is high on the priority list for NAU.
>>President John Haeger: In the long run it saves money, it saves people hours, so it's
just a smart thing to do. Even putting aside that it contributes to reducing our carbon
footprint >>Farley: So it's really important that it's
visible and that's I think is the piece that we've been missing, is that recycling has
not been visible on campus, so I think this will help us move in the right direction
>>Robie: For Inside NAU, I'm Ananda Robie >>Bierer: More information on the program
is available at recycling.nau.edu