An Evaluation of Dalhousie University's Campus Recycling Program

Abstract

This paper is the final report of the research project for the Materials group from the Environmental Problem Solving class at Dalhousie University, Winter Semester 2006, supervised by Gregor MacAskill. The intent of this project was to assess the efficiency of the Dalhousie campus recycling program, and based on this assessment, recommend changes that could be implemented to improve the system’s efficiency. Specifically, we wanted to understand reasons why individuals were not utilizing the on campus recycling facilities in a consistent and proper manner. The results of this research showed that the Dalhousie University recycling program is operating inefficiently for a number of reasons. These include: a lack of public awareness about the details of the program, such as what can and cannot be recycled on campus; an inadequate number of recycling facilities on campus; inadequate labels on the recycling bins explaining what belongs in each bin; as well as personal indifference towards the system. Furthermore, this study found a significant disconnect between how individuals perceive their use of the system, and how the system is actually being used. Lastly, the results of this study suggest that taking simple measures to improve the system, such as: increasing the number of recycling bins; improving the locations of bins; placing better quality signs on the bins; or distributing an informative pamphlet about the recycling system, would encourage more efficient use of the Dalhousie recycling system.