{"id":57660,"date":"2015-10-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-rolls-out-refurbished-barrels-to-enhance-recycling\/"},"modified":"2015-10-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T00:00:00","slug":"uri-rolls-out-refurbished-barrels-to-enhance-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/10\/uri-rolls-out-refurbished-barrels-to-enhance-recycling\/","title":{"rendered":"URI rolls out refurbished barrels to enhance recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tEffort saves URI $45,000<\/b><\/p>\n


\nKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 October 22, 2015 \u2013 What do you do with old bait and fertilizer barrels? Well, the University of Rhode Island recycles them, of course. In fact it refurbished about 100 barrels during the summer, which now clearly delineate the difference between trash and recycling receptacles. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were finding that the lack of consistent color-coding and signage made it difficult for people to properly recycle, especially at field and special events,\u201d said URI\u2019s recycling and solid waste coordinator Mary Brennan. <\/p>\n


\nPlus the initiative saved URI approximately $45,000 by re-using existing containers. Sets of outdoor trash and recycling containers can cost $800 to $1,000, but URI spent less then $50 per set to refurbish them. <\/p>\n


\nThe Facilities Services team scrubbed, painted, drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, added handles for lifting, as well as brand new labels to the recycling barrels. The blue recycling barrels also received special new tops.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe addition of having clearly defined colors and new labels as well as the lids make it very easy for people to recycle. I think that if people are given the choice and if recycling is easy they are going to do it. It\u2019s going to make it that much easier for people when they have a choice of what to do with a bottle or can,\u201d said Brennan. <\/p>\n


\nAlthough recycling has increased nationwide by 7 percent in the past five years, about 25 percent of Americans still don\u2019t recycle according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

\n\u201cWe all need to work to reduce the amount of waste we generate, re-use what we can, and recycle the remainder.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe expect that these refurbished barrels will greatly enhance recycling rates, especially at football games and other high-profile events that are held at the University. I\u2019m proud of all that URI has done regarding sustainability. Our students, faculty, and staff have been supportive and enthusiastic about becoming green.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nWhat\u2019s next for our campus? The Facilities Services Department is now considering new labeling of the dumpsters stationed around campus. This will help make it easier for students to identify where to place trash and recycling. <\/p>\n


\nPictured Above

\nRecycling and solid waste laborers Dave Morgan, Mike Joyce, Derek Groves and Gil Barnes join recycling and solid waste coordinator Mary Brennan (center) as they display the new recycling and trash barrels at Meade Stadium.

\nURI photos by Jessica Vescera<\/p>\n


\nThis release was written by Caitlin Musselman, a URI Marketing and Communications intern and a public relations and political science major.\n\t<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Effort saves URI $45,000 KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 October 22, 2015 \u2013 What do you do with old bait and fertilizer barrels? Well, the University of Rhode Island recycles them, of course. In fact it refurbished about 100 barrels during the summer, which now clearly delineate the difference between trash and recycling receptacles. \u201cWe were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}