Inside Iowa State Oct. 13, 1995 ______________ Paper Recycling Moving Toward Break-Even Point by Curt M. Pratt, News Service intern Iowa State's white paper recycling effort is about to turn a page. The paper collection process will be handled by ISU employees rather than a private collection company, said Gloria Erickson, ISU Recycling Committee member and programming assistant at facilities planning and management. "We are excited about having a member of facilities planning and management, Jim Joyner, collect the recycled paper," Erickson said. "It gives ISU the opportunity to make and save money." Last year, ISU recycled 160 tons of white paper, earning approximately $17,000, she said. However, that was not enough to cover the $25,200 cost of hiring a private contractor to collect the paper and purchasing recycling containers for campus offices. ISU subsidized the program with $33,000 in start-up costs. Recent increases in the payments for recycled paper (ISU now gets $150 per ton) and the in-house collection should bring ISU to the break-even point sooner, and the program eventually should make money, Erickson said. Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance, said, "My hope has been that this will eventually become self-supporting as either the volume of material or the price paid continues to increase. Additionally, we hope to save on landfill and disposal costs and see an increase in recycled products being used on campus." The residence halls were added to the recycling effort in January, and the committee expects the Memorial Union and Catt Hall to be added soon. Most of the recycling paper on campus comes from Beardshear Hall. It accounts for 5.3 percent of the total amount recycled Ñ 8.44 tons per year. "I think it's the nature of the building," said Susan Logan, accountant and Beardshear recycling supervisor. "We have general administration, financial aid and the treasurer's office in here." The second and third largest recyclers are East and Heady halls, with 8.24 tons per year, and the printing department, with 8.17 tons per year. Erickson said the committee has been pleased with the first year's recycling effort. A goal this year is to target buildings with low recycling ratios, identify problems and increase the volume of paper recycled. "We also are looking to recycle newspaper and cardboard so we have an even more environmentally conscious campus," Erickson said. __________ University Relations Iowa State University