Dave Lupinski, director of recycling for the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority, spoke to students on Oct. 19 about the two-county region's recycling program, as well as recycling efforts at Hamilton.
The talk was part of "Green Week," sponsored by the Hamilton Environmental Action Group (HEAG). Lupinski began by saying that the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority has a very aggressive and comprehensive recycling program as part of its waste management system. This program includes the collection and processing of garbage and recyclables from residents, education about how to recycle properly, waste audits for schools and business, household hazardous waste management, composting, and stump and land debris disposal.
Lupinski showed photos of the region's recycling center, which handles an average of 200 tons of recycling a day. In fact, he said, the recycling center has processed over 470,000 tons of material since it opened in 1991. Pictures showed how the recyclables are taken into the center and sorted into their various categories, then packaged to be sold to companies that will use the material. The funding for the Oneida-Herkimer recycling program, Lupinski said, comes not from taxes, but from the sale of recycled material, the redemption of cans and bottles, and from charges levied for the disposal of garbage by large haulers. The recycling center makes approximately $200 million a year from selling recycling materials.
Lupinski talked about the many things beyond paper, cans and bottles that are recycled in Oneida-Herkimer. Propane tanks, hardcover books, computers, fluorescent light bulbs and tires are all recycled and used for various purposes. Yard waste is also composted in the recycling center's 18,000 ton compost heaps. He also touched on the fate of waste that cannot be recycled. "Nobody wants a landfill in their backyard," Lupinski said, "but everyone wants their garbage picked up and taken away... garbage has got to go somewhere." Currently, trash from Oneida-Herkimer is shipped to a landfill 90 miles away, but that will change when the construction of the new landfill in Ava is completed.
Hamilton College has started this year off well in terms of recycling, Lupinski said. He praised the College administration's willingness to fund recycling projects, and also praised a number of the College's students who have been pushed for an improved recycling system. A new Oneida-Herkimer project that Hamilton is participating in this year will collect old athletic shoes to be sent to a plant where Nike recycles them to make materials used in carpet padding, tennis courts, basketball courts and tracks. Lupinski encouraged Hamilton students to keep up the good work - to become pro-active, reduce waste, recycle properly, and educate others. Ben Norland '06 of HEAG said that a Web site detailing Hamilton's recycling statistics as well as other information about recycling will be up later this year.
Lupinski's talk was part of HEAG's "Green Week." The week's events continue with a presentation of the film "Super Size Me" on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Red Pit, as well as a Camp-Out on Minor Field on Thursday evening.
-- by Caroline O'Shea '07
