Source reduction addresses Dascomb waste

Recyclers look to clean up excess Dascomb refuse

Dascomb's litter has not been going unnoticed.

Since the new snack-bar style dining hall opened this year, the grounds department has seen a significant increase in the amount of trash they are picking up around the dorm.

"We've borne the brunt of a lot more trash over there," Director of Grounds Dennis Grieve said.

Grieve was just one of about 20 people who met Thursday to discuss waste reduction at Oberlin. Director of Environmental Health and Safety Cheryl Wolff raised a number of concerns surrounding source reduction at the meeting.

One of the new goals of the group is to reduce waste produced by Campus Dining Service (CDS). Of the three committees that comprise the source reduction task force group one focuses on composting. The composting group is developing plans for a food-waste composting facility. Currently, the College keeps a large compost pile for leaf and grass composting. In order for the food wastes to be legally composted, the site would need a number of modifications, including a hard surface, a water line and a loop road around the facility.

Another subgroup focused on reducing paper waste. Last year this group implemented the Oberlin Shorts program to replace all-campus mailings. The group also made notebooks out of cover sheets and other waste paper from the Computing Center. "They are very popular with students," Wolff said.

The waste paper subgroup is also tackling the problem of unrecyclable fluorescent paper.

"We've gotten a promise by the college to not buy anymore fluorescent paper," Wolff said. "Fluorescent paper is basically illegal on campus."

The College's supplier, Staples, has been instructed not to sell any fluorescent paper to Oberlin departments that order it.

"There are other options to fluorescent paper that still catch people's eyes," Wolff said.