University recycling turns trash into treasure
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E-mail China Daily, November 27, 2012
Students trade bottles, used books for recycled goods
A project that encourages Beijing students to recycle on campus has turned more than 100 tons of waste into useful resources in the past three years.
The Re-life University Environmental Coalition, involving more than 30 colleges, including the University of International Business and Economics, has been turning waste into wealth since 2009.
The project, jointly set up by the capital's commerce and education commissions, aims to ensure sorting and recycling on campuses by offering students recycled products for used books and discarded bottles, said Liu Quan, director of Beijing Tianlong Ttjie Resources Recycling, which is in charge of collecting and dealing with the products.
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A volunteer helps a girl to put on a bow made of recycled newspaper and advertising paper at an activity to raise awareness for recycling at the Capital Library of China in Beijing in 2011. [China Daily] |
"The college is very densely populated and witnesses huge consumption of recyclable resources every day," he said. "In addition, college students, who are independent while open to new ideas, can better understand the significance of recycling and popularize the idea further through action."
The project is expected to cover at least 50 universities by the end of 2013, Liu said.
Every week, college societies and associations take up their routine of collecting wastepaper, books and bottles from dormitories, and then take the waste to a recycling station near the sports ground.
Students who bring the waste are rewarded with recycled products.
Rewards for waste
"You can discard it for nothing or for a pen and book, so there's no reason for students not to come and contribute," said Li Wei, vice-president of the Re-life University Environmental Coalition.
Li said 1 to 2 metric tons of waste, mainly used paper, is collected each month.
From the more than 100 tons of waste collected in the past three years, the union said it has retrieved 25 tons of newspaper, 20 tons of books, 9 tons of coated paper, 11 tons of paperboard and about 1 million bottles and cans. The total value is 120,000 yuan ($19,300).
The amount of paper it has recycled has significantly reduced pollutants released into the air and water, he said.
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