Matt Sharp
Contributing Writer

Students who dispose of their waste improperly are limiting the effectiveness of Shoreline Community College’s recycling efforts.

By the end of the day, trash cans on campus contain recyclable soda cans, plastic bottles and paper.

Tony Diaz, a member of the campus facilities staff, typically spends two to three hours per day emptying the garbage bins. Each day, he fills the back of a full-sized pickup.

“I hate the smell of coffee,” Diaz said recently as he walked toward a bin drowning in the syrupy brown liquid.

You wouldn’t like it either if you had to pick up the bags that Diaz handles. In most of them, “you find a ton of Whidbey Coffee,” said Diaz. “The amount of coffee people throw away around here is unbelievable.” Sometimes, the pool of wasted coffee is several inches deep.

Along with the coffee is a lot of messy food. Since recyclable material soiled with food and coffee is not accepted by the recycling center, all the cans, bottles and paper in garbage bins end up at the Cedar Hills Landfill.

Students sparingly use the blue recycling bins, designated for cans, plastic bottles and glass. Diaz finds most trash bins need to be emptied daily. However, with the exception of the student lounge, he only has to worry about recyclables every other week or so.

But not all of the material thrown into the recycling bins is recyclable. Most bins end up with trash in them–sometimes even food and coffee.

A couple cups of coffee are enough to soil several pounds of recyclable aluminum and glass, according to Diaz. The whole bag ends up at the landfill.

Because there are only 31 blue bins around campus compared to more than 60 external garbage bins as well as at least one in each classroom and office, some students feel that the recycling infrastructure is inadequate, and that proper recycling is too inconvenient for students.

Paper recycling bins are even less common– they can only be found inside buildings. “All the recycle bins around are plastic and glass, even in break rooms,” said student Francis Dwyer. “Most of what students get rid of is paper.”

Dwyer said he finds himself wanting to recycle some paper, but the trek to the nearest recycling bin is too long. “When the campus is this big, I’m not going to walk to the library to get rid of paper,” he said.

How Students Can Help
1. Dispose of waste in the proper bin.
2. Buy only as much food and drink as you need.
3. Finish food before throwing the container away.
4. Dispose of unused liquids in a restroom.