Cassie LaJeunesse, Campus Carrier Copy Editor
Signs posted above recycling bins around Berry’s campus list glass as a recyclable item, but Steve Cordle, owner of Moriah Services, says that glass cannot be recycled at Berry. Moriah is the company that handles Berry’s waste and recycling streams.
According to Cordle, there was a time many years ago that glass could be recycled, but it can no longer be accepted by Moriah because it is not accepted by recycling centers in the area. Glass is only recyclable if it can be sold, but Cordle says that it currently costs more to transport glass than a recycler can sell it for.
A 2015 article from the Rome News-Tribune explained that in 2015, glass added a $35,000 annual expense for the Rome-Floyd County Recycling Center.
Cordle says that glass is a marginal item for recycling anyway, and that students should focus more on three major items: paper, cans and plastic bottles.
“If (the Berry community)can do a good job about handling those three most important, common, identifiable and specific commodities, this campus will continue to be a shining star in terms of what they do,” Cordle said.
Cordle believes that recycling is the environmental equivalent of the task of brushing your teeth daily.
“I think it’s just something that we ought to do,” Cordle said. “It doesn’t cost us a lot of energy or thought.”
Eddie Elsberry, director of environmental compliance and sustainability, agrees that recycling is an important step toward reducing our environmental impact. He believes that the most important thing to know about recycling is that it begins with purchasing. Elsberry says that students should look at what they are buying and determine whether or not the packaging can be recycled.
“The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place,” Elsberry said. “Reduction and reuse are the most effective ways you can save natural resources, protect the environment and save money.”