This past summer, the UTM Recycle Barn got a new roof, acquired through financial aid of the administration. Dennis Kosta, head of the recycling program at UTM, said that the Recycle Barn has worked for this roof for two years, and this summer, the roof was finally installed.
“[The roof] was needed. It was leaking in the Recycling Barn, and it was causing a lot of problems. I’ve got a lot of students and community workers who work in there, and they were walking in water and working around electricity, and it was a dangerous situation,” Kosta said.
The roof situation was not only dangerous, but something that needed financial attention to be acquired.
“They have capital projects for the whole university, and this year, with a lot of support from the faculty and students, they helped us make sure [and get the roof],” Kosta said.
This help from the administration enabled the recycling program to use their funds for other causes.
“Our money, we take that to buy bins for the different groups on campus and for the schools; we put them in the Dresden Elementary School and Martin Elementary School. So, we’ve helped fund some projects to where we can help the other school systems,” Kosta said.
This new roof has especially affected the student workers at the Recycle Barn.
“[The roof’s] white and it reflects heat. So during the summer, it was a lot cooler in there than what it was, and they’re wiring all new lighting and circuits in there; so, it’s really come a long way from where it was,” Kosta said.
This progression of the Recycle Barn not only affects those who work there, but students on campus, volunteering for classes and bringing recyclables in.
“When I have all these students come into the recycle barn, they get an idea [about recycling]. They’ll tell you, ‘Hey, I didn’t realize so much could be recycled.’ They come in here and work and they say, ‘Man, I can do this on my own. I can make a change in my life’ And so, it’s a real learning thing for the students,” Kosta said.
Kosta said that it also affects the community, giving the city of Martin awareness of the environment.
“We’ve [been involved with] the cub scouts, the girl scouts, church groups, ladies’ groups, the rotary club. They call and ask me to come and talk to them, because they’re interested in wanting to do something for the community and for the environment. I think it’s been a real learning tool for the whole community,” Kosta said.
Kosta also talked about hazardous materials and how that pertains to the city of Martin and UTM.
“The Weekly County waste disposal system has one day a year that they actually take hazardous waste and [when that happens] we’ll get with them and do a big drive to get all the hazardous waste. We take from the campus herelightbulbs, batteries, hazardous waste, but as far as the community, they only have that one day a year. And this last year, they didn’t have one, so people that are out in the community are really having a hard time getting rid of their hazardous waste,” Kosta said.
As for the future, the Recycle Barn is steadily moving ahead in numbers and equipment.
“I’m excited to see how much it’s grown. In ‘91, we did 52 tons; this year, we’ll hit over 600 tons of recyclables at the university. So, we’ve come a long way from where we were. I would like to see us grow naturally and see people become more involved, but what I’d really like to see is the city partnership with us. The city is actually paying over $100,000 a month to throw their garbage away and, just think how many jobs that could create for college students to be working at a recycle plant that the city owned. Over 75 percent of what they’re throwing away could be recycled and they’re paying to throw it away,” Kosta said.
According to Kosta, this shift in thinking about waste is an important factor to making the future better, for UTM and for the world.
“I can say, well, I’m 57 and [waste isn’t] going to bother me, but what about you young people coming up and your kids? Somewhere we have to draw a line and say, ‘Hey we need to make a change and where does this start? It starts right now,'” Kosta said.
