The Office for Sustainability surveyed students to determine awareness and attitudes of recycling on campus. A total of 130 completed the survey. The results were that 86% recycle on campus. Of those , 32% said they always recycle whether it is convenient or not.
“The purpose of this survey effort is to make people aware of the university’s zero waste initiative and to find out how often people are recycling, conserving energy and riding a bike on campus,” according to Theresa Ehrlich, co-chair of the UA Sustainability Council Managed Systems Workgroup.
“These all align with some of the goals that the Office for Sustainability is doing, mostly the zero waste events and a big push for recycling,” Ehrlich said.
The survey was a brief questionnaire that quickly captured metrics on people’s perceptions, beliefs and attitudes towards recycling.
“It was only five questions, and most people were students,” said Kay Kay DeRossette, intern with the Office for Sustainability. Kay Kay works with groups on campus to increase recycling rates in Athletics and the Greek Community. She is also developing a Zero Waste Strategy for events.
Kay Kay DeRossette said the results of the survey seem to align with people’s behaviors. The survey was conducted during Razorbash, one of the largest events on the Union Mall during the school year. “People used the recycling receptacles that were scattered across the Union Mall and our diversion rate for the event was 76%, which is actually really good for a first year attempt at Zero Waste,” she said.
The Office for Sustainability is working hard this year to educate people about how to reduce waste by adopting sustainable habits, like bike-riding and using recycle bins instead of tossing unwanted items into the trash.
Throughout the next year, the Office for Sustainability will collaborate with several other organizations such as Greek Life and the Associated Student Government to expand recycling efforts across campus. All of these events are tied to increasing recycling and waste minimization awareness, so the U of A can obtain the zero waste title by 2021.
For more information or to get involved with the Office for Sustainability, please visit http://sustainability.uark.edu/