Joseph White

Student documents recycling success

Joseph White has been looking into campus dumpsters for more than a year now. No, he's not a dumpster diver looking for treasure. He's a conservation of natural resources major documenting campus recycling efforts.

Lenoir-Rhyne has had a limited recycling program for several years. But Dr. John Brzorad and Erin Seiling of the Thomas W. Reese Institute for Conservation of Natural Resources wanted to take it to a new level. To document the success of their efforts, they needed to establish a baseline level of recycling on campus.

That's where White came in. He agreed to check campus dumpsters and recycling bins to determine how much waste was heading to the dump, and how much was being recycled. He first measured each container and calculated the number of cubic yards it could hold. He painted measurements on the sides of the dumpsters to help him estimate the level of trash in each one. Then, three to four days a week, he checked each dumpster and recycling station on campus and recorded his findings.