Our institution cites sustainability as one of its core values. In October 2024, The Princeton Review named Drew University to its annual Guide to Green Colleges List for its sustainability-conscious programs and policies. Yet, during my tenure as an undergrad student here on campus, I’ve caught wind of rumors that circulate among sections of the student body that Drew does not manage its recycling properly. As a student myself, I find these rumors worrying not just for the integrity of our school but for the general well-being of our environment. If an institution that’s nationally recognized for its sustainable practices does not in fact recycle properly, what does that say about us, and what does that say about the larger issue of commitment to sustainability? It is imperative that the student body knows the truth.
Drew is partnered with Waste Management — the nation’s largest environmental solutions provider — in order to dispose of recyclable material properly and efficiently. Waste Management has a legal obligation to dispose of waste as intended by Drew. It is the legally binding responsibility of Morris County to collect and dispose of the regular garbage stream, where it is then brought to a landfill site in Pennsylvania. Drew University contracts Waste Management to take all of the recycling waste from campus to its processing facility at St. Charles Street in Newark. When the company-provided recycling containers around campus are filled improperly, Waste Management provides pictures and videos to Drew University representatives in order to bring attention to the issue. So how does the school process recyclable waste?
Across campus, there are clearly marked trash cans with labels saying either trash/waste or single stream recycling; alternatively, these trash cans are usually easy to differentiate by their color difference. Regular black trash bags are used to collect normal waste whereas those used for recycling are clear. This helps the grounds staff identify which waste container to place these bags into once they are collected from the buildings across campus. At Drew University’s on-campus recycling site (located behind the arboretum), the clear bags used for recycling are torn open and the contents emptied into the Waste Management-provided recycling containers. The trash bags themselves are non-recyclable.
In addition to the on-campus recycling site, there are Waste Management-provided waste and recycling containers outside of Tipple Hall and the Hurst, Foster and McClintock residence buildings; the students that live in these buildings are responsible for making sure the trash bags are placed in the correct containers. This is where most of the recycling stream contamination occurs, likely through negligence but also through a lack of awareness about how Drew actually manages its waste. A facilities representative mentioned to me that the facilities department regularly reaches out to ResLife in order to raise awareness of the matter, but little awareness seems to have trickled down to the residents of these halls. Apparently, Waste Management charges the school recycling contamination fees, but how much these fees actually are I couldn’t find out. Around three to four years ago, Drew even tried passing the contamination fees along to the residents of these halls. However, the controversy surrounding this proposition resulted in its termination, and the residents never paid the fees.
On Drew’s website, there is a specific webpage titled Recycling Guide that mentions how once the recycling has been brought to Waste Management’s processing center in Newark, the material “is checked to make sure it is free of contamination. From there, the material goes to the recycling facility to be recycled.” However, I was unable to verify this claim on Waste Management’s website, and could not locate any customer service contact information to ask for myself. What I did find on WM’s Recycling Guide 101 web page was a series of commonly cited recycling myths, under which is listed the idea that non- recyclables are sorted out of the recycling stream. Therefore, it is unclear whether or not there is a fail-safe for contamination that ends up in the recycling stream. The lack of concrete evidence is all the more reason, given the uncertainty regarding whether or not contamination is filtered out, that we as a community should take responsibility for depositing our waste responsibly.
According to a 2024 Bloomberg report, Americans trash around 76% of their recyclable waste. When not disposed of properly, these recyclables end up in landfill sites like that in Pennsylvania, buried in the ground seeping chemicals into our ecosystem. We must take greater care of our community, the environment we depend on and our future.
For more information contact: facilities@drew.edu & reslife@drew.edu or refer to the Drew University Recycling Guide.
Adam Smith is a senior majoring in media and communications, minoring in Spanish and political science.
