Middlebury College minds waste. And it shows.
In 2008, Middlebury's total waste (compost, recycling and landfill) was 2,731,913 pounds, the lowest since 1998. This also means that Middlebury's diversion rate is the best its been since 2003 which is the only year since 1999 that the diversion rate was better than the 2008 rate of 61.2%
What's New at the Facility
Middlebury College's Turbine Project was completed the summer of 2005 at the site of the campus recycling facility. The turbine was connected to the college grid, offsetting the college's use of electric power from Central Vermont Public Service. The Middlebury College Recycling Facility uses as much of the wind-powered electricity as it needs for operation at any given time. Electricity not utilized by the facility is fed through the grid and used elsewhere on campus.
Middlebury College's Material Recovery Facility
The inspiration for recycling came from students. In the fall of 1988, Environmental Studies Senior Seminar (ES401), led by Professor Steve Trombulak, developed a comprehensive solid waste plan that was soon implemented by the college under the supervision of Residential Life. It was later integrated into the daily work of Facilities Services. In 1994, the Association of Vermont Recyclers named Middlebury College the School Recycler of the Year.
Originally sorting recyclables from the former 600-square-foot coal storage space adjacent to the college heating plant, the recycling program was rewarded for its success in 2002 with a new Material Recovery Facility (MRF). Five full-time staff and many students are employed to collect, sort and manage recyclables/waste throughout campus. The MRF uses three balers and a glass pulverizer to process the materials. The mixed glass cullet is being stored for future use as aggregate; the other materials are marketed by the Rutland County Solid Waste Management District (RCSWMD). While the college pays a tipping fee to the RCSWMD for their marketing services, it is much lower than the tipping fee for landfilling waste, which in 2005 was $104.00/ton in Addison County.
Located just south of the Harris Farm on Route 125, the 5700 square foot recycling facility has greatly enhanced the College's processing capabilities. In keeping with the agricultural character of the site, the main structure has been designed to resemble a barn, with vertical wood siding and a standing seam metal roof. The site includes a work yard for construction and demolition debris, the perimeter of which is screened by the main barn, a fence and plantings, and a small shed that serves as a small quantity Universal waste storage location for fluorescent bulbs and batteries. There is also a used oil collection station at the facility.
Crushed concrete from the College's former science building was used as a road base leading to the facility and as fill under the building foundation. The barn is framed with recycled steel and sided with green certified red spruce lumber harvested from the College's forest land in Ripton. As with all of its construction and renovation work, the College and its contractors follow waste management guidelines developed by the Environmental Council and written specifically for construction waste (Construction & Demolition Waste Management Best Practices). The College also received a grant from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Waste Management Division to document the process used by the contractor in following these guidelines (Construction Waste Reduction Case Study)
What and How to Recycle
Every student is provided with a single recycling bin for his or her dorm room in additional to a small trash container. Faculty and staff who work in offices are also provided with a recycling bin. Each building has at least one recycling station and larger buildings often have collection areas on each floor. Faculty, staff and students are responsible for delivering recyclables to the recycling collection areas.
Middlebury sorts into two main recycling categories: mixed paper and mixed containers. Once returned to the facility, containers are then sorted into more than nine different categories and paper is sorted into three. All materials are sorted by hand!
Blue 35-gallon toters are used consistently throughout campus at the recycling stations for the collection of recyclables, and each toter is further distinguished by a color coded sign. Blue signs describe the acceptable types of mixed paper; green signs indicate the toter is for mixed containers. Beige toters are for trash.
For details on all the types of things that can be recycled, check out the following link: What to Recycle at Middlebury
Reuse
As part of the Recycling Center, gently used items are diverted to a reuse trailer that is accessible to the college community from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Numerous text books plus plates and kitchen gadgets, office supplies, clothing, and occasionally larger pieces of furniture, lamps and rugs are available for a small charge.
Facilities Services also seeks reuse opportunities when upgrading furniture in campus buildings. In the summer of 2005, the College worked with the Institutional Recycling Network (IRN), a non-profit providing recycling brokering services for colleges, hospitals, and other institutions. More than 1,100 pieces of furniture were redistributed to needy villages in Jamaica, and also to the victims of the Tsunami.
The Recycling Center is located on the western boundary of campus off Route 125.
Other questions? Call Missy Beckwith, Waste Management Supervisor, at 5267 or email at beckwith@middlebury.edu.