The final report of a recycling feasibility study conducted earlier this year was presented on Tuesday’s Associated Students (A.S.) meeting.
“At this point, all we’re looking at, is what could be,” said Conor Landsdale, A.S. vice president.
Laurence Kuhn and Tracie Bills from Terra Solutions Consulting Company reported what CSUN has and would like to be able to have regarding issues of sustainability. The current recycling center and plans for a new, green building was discussed.
“The people at CSUN have such a vision for sustainability,” Bills said. “Everyone working at the recycling center has done a phenomenal job with the space we have now, but there’s a lot of opportunity out there.”
David Crandall, the general manager of A.S., said the recycling center is a thoughtful and deliberate process, which makes people ask whether they can do more.
The existing A.S. recycling center has been running since 1991, Bills said.
“They’re basically working out of a box car,” Lansdale said. “It’s not the best conditions to be working in.”
Recycling bins total 55 exterior locations around campus, as well as 15 housing exterior locations, Bills said. There are also 26 internal recycling bins, Bills said. She added that the A.S. recycling center workers manually empty the bins and sort through them.
“It’s quite a feat itself the amount of hours put into this,” Bills said.
The new recycling center will be built at the existing location, which will allow for growth over the next 15 years, Kuhn said.
“We have to take our time doing this,” Bills said. “We can’t do it all overnight.”
New suggested additions added to the building would be things such as sorting belts and baler, more materials would be accepted at the center, plus a buy back center and redemption machines if A.S. is interested in adding it, Kuhn said.
Bills added that new additions to the program would include more classroom conferences, an increase in housing recycling opportunities, a comprehensive sustainability plan, and special event recycling. Other additions are in marketing and research, academic opportunities and signage, meaning placing material in the proper bins.
In regards to academic opportunities, graduate students interested in green projects could conduct a study on recycling on campus focusing on the life cycle of materials used, Kuhn said. A study like that could help the recycling center to have the correct number of bins in the right locations around campus, which serves to cut back on ineffective materials, Kuhn said.
The green features of the building would be natural low energy, embodied materials, local materials, material system longevity, day lighting and light responsive systems, a net-zero footprint goal, an over-code fresh air ventilation and a self-monitoring adjustable environment, Kuhn said.
Kuhn said if the materials come from somewhere locally, within 500 miles, they will get more points from the green certification system. Materials used that have already been previously recycled give the building more green points, he added.
The self-monitoring adjustable environment will flash different colors indicating that too much energy is being used and it will adjust accordingly, Kuhn said.
“We are very excited and inspired,” Kuhn said. “CSUN is recognizing the importance of a new facility, which is unusual. The passion for it really came forth.”
Funds allocated for the project so far are $120,000, Lansdale said. A.S. has spent $7,500 on this part of the planning phase, Lansdale said. Every year, A.S. plans to put aside money in a special fund to hold it. It will take about five years to save the amount of money required, Lansdale said.
“Whatever the thing costs, we are hoping to be able to offset the costs with external funding,” Crandall said. “Our target is to get half from other sources.”
Businesses like the idea of green buildings, Crandall said. As a green recycling center, he hopes they will want to help fund the project.
“The recycling center will be completely funded by A.S. fees,” Lansdale said.
The next step is to hire an architectural firm to begin designing it, Lansdale said.