Not acceptable
In commenting on the proposed changes to garbage and recycling pickup procedures in Portland, Amanda Fritz writes:
On my unit at OHSU (yeah, the organization with the famed super-green building in South Waterfront), the only recycling available is for confidential papers that need to be shredded. No regular paper recycling (so I often end up putting paper in the expensive to-be-shredded bin), no plastic bottle recycling, not even a mechanism to return soda bottles with deposits. That's pitiful, in 2007.It is indeed.
| Posted at 4:35 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
But I'll bet OHSU has an entire administrative unit for "sustainability".
Posted by mrfearless47 | May 2, 2007 6:29 PM
And, Amanda, no water fountain in the lobby!
Posted by Garage Wine | May 3, 2007 8:32 AM
"...the only recycling available is for confidential papers that need to be shredded. No regular paper recycling (so I often end up putting paper in the expensive to-be-shredded bin), ..."
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Huh?
Did she really admit to what I think she admitted to?
Wow!!
I think she wanted to convey that she is soo enviro friendly, that she insists on putting her non-confidential, therefore no-need-to-shred paper in the shred bin just so she can feel all good and enviro friendly. If I am wrong, please correct me!
Has she done even a back of the envelope financial comparison on the costs of shredding? I bet OHSU uses a mobile shred company that charges a lot of money to properly shred and dispose of (even if they recycle it afterward). Again, they charge lots of money for that service. Even if they do their own shredding, it is a very costly function to do right.
I may be wrong, but I bet that the benefits of recycling are totally eliminated by the extra costs associated with shredding non-confidential materials.
And is that paid for somewhat by taxpayers, since OSHU is quasi-public?
Harry
PS I do think that recycling is a good thing, but please, lets be reasonable about it.
Posted by Harry | May 3, 2007 10:02 AM
The actual "reasonable" thing to do would be for OHSU to have a campus wide recycling program.
Do they realy NOT have one??
Posted by Don | May 3, 2007 11:24 AM
And if everyone followed Amanda's example, it would push OHSU's shredding costs up to the point where they might actually be motivated to fix the problem and put in the recycling program.
But then, they haven't always understood cost effectiveness of new programs in the past, have they?
Posted by John Rettig | May 3, 2007 12:04 PM
Okay...I agree with the comments about getting OHSU to get a recycling program for non-shred paper.
But do you really think that your stealth approach would work?
Wouldn't it be better to make visible the request for recycling non-shred paper?
The bean counters might just think that their shred costs are going up because more people are following the shred rules.
Harry
Posted by Harry | May 3, 2007 12:45 PM
isn't Amanda just talking about her unit, not what the entire OHSU campus does?
Posted by ecohuman.com | May 3, 2007 4:11 PM
So, we bought a tram for the biggest enterprise in our fair city that DOESN"T EVEN RECYCLE?
Initiative petition: No more public money into any properties unless built and operated LEED Gold.
Posted by dyspeptic | May 4, 2007 11:20 PM