Make recycling as or more convenient than garbage disposal. Convenience is a key to high recycling participation rates. If recycling is less convenient than garbage disposal, large quantities of valuable recyclables may still end up in the trash. Several universities are attempting to level the playing field between recycling and garbage disposal, making recycling more convenient and reducing the demands on housekeeping staff. At Dennison University, the Recycling Program staff convinced Physical Plant administrators to replace garbage containers with 32-gallon recycling barrels on all dorm floors.
Students now have to take their garbage outside to dumpsters.
With a 1990 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Dennison has also purchased 13-quart recycling bins for use inside students' rooms. Not only does this make recycling as convenient as garbage disposal, it also provides a visual reminder of the opportunity to recycle whenever someone empties their trash. Recycle office paper from all offices on campus. If a recycling program has a strong focus on this particular waste stream, great progress can be made toward dramatically reducing the waste generated on campus. At Stanford University office paper is picked up from every building where it is generated - about 400 locations.