History of VT Recycling

Volunteer efforts to organize campus recycling at Virginia Tech date back to at least the mid-1970's. A decade later, broad public reaction to the American "throw-away culture," and concern over a perceived "landfill crisis," coupled with a new wave of environmentalism, prompted faculty/staff volunteers, and students from the YMCA-sponsored organization Ecocycle to promote campus-wide aluminum can recycling in 1989. With support from President McComas, a grant from the state of Virginia, and through "contracts" with various motivated student groups, Ecocycle succeeded in instituting the program in core campus buildings over the next 2-3 years. Eventually, this collection system was absorbed by the Physical Plant Custodial Services, and was gradually expanded to include collection of source-separated glass bottles (clear/brown&green) and plastic bottles (#1 & #2).

In 1989-90, faculty volunteers from the English Department in Williams Hall initiated a paper recycling program ( in cooperation with Cycle Systems of Roanoke), which quickly expanded to include departments in approximately twenty other buildings. The English Instructor who had "spearheaded" the effort then approached the Head of Physical Plant to propose the university hire him to manage the growth of the program, and some months later, after consideration by university administrators, Physical Plant hired him part time in 1991; in 1992, he resigned his position as part-time English Instructor to become the university's first full-time Recycling Coordinator and launch Virginia Tech Recycling (VTR).

Recycling programs at other universities came into being similarly, during the same period, and from this "movement" emerged CURC, the College and University Recycling Council, which established a listserve and linked campus recycling programs around the country for the first time via the internet. In the mid-1990's, VTR teamed with its counterpart programs at UVa, JMU, VCU, and GM, to create VaCURC, for the sharing of experience and advice.

In the early years of operation, VTR established a daily collection route for corrugated cardboard; formalized and expanded collection of Mixed Paper; helped negotiate arrangements for the handling of cans and bottles by Custodial Services; improved the collection of scrap metals, attempted the recycling of ballast/fluorescent tubes, and assisted in negotiating a university contract with Waste Management to provide 30-cubic yard recycling "rolloffs" for collection of aluminum cans, glass bottles, and plastic bottles in the dining halls.

In 1992, VTR coordinated with the Grounds Department to develop a low-tech leaf/grass composting arrangement, and initiated a yardwaste/pallet mulching operation, both situated at the university's closed sanitary landfill. These efforts were complemented by composting research, through Crop and Soils Environmental Sciences, and in the late 1990's, with the approval of the Assistant VP for Facilities, and input from a variety of departments, a full-blown proposal for a "Bio Conversion Research and Service Facility" was developed, and proposed to the university in 2000.

Also during the period of the early-mid 1990's, Montgomery County began preparations for formal closure of its Mid-County Landfill, which Virginia Tech and other local jurisdictions, had traditionally used for disposal. The result, after about five years of negotiation, and the partnership of Virginia Tech, the Towns of Christiansburg and Blacksburg, and Montgomery County, was the formation of the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority (MRSWA). MRSWA became responsible for DEQ-monitored closure of the Mid-County Landfill; construction of a Transfer Station for the handling of solid waste; negotiations with the New River Resource Authority (NRRA), for transport and disposal of solid waste in the NRRA-managed Cloyd's Mountain Landfill; and the design and construction of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for the processing and sale of recyclables.

In 2002, due to budget cuts, VTR lost three positions, and ceased daily collection of recyclable paper. Numerous departments and individuals requested continuation of collection services in some form, and VTR facilitated by providing bins, bags, and carts, and operating a campus recycling station in the Overflow Parking Lot. Meanwhile, VTR continued to manage other aspects of campus recycling notably for corrugated cardboard, commingled cans/bottles, Print Shop scrap, and ferrous/non-ferrous metals.

In FY2007-08, primarily as a result of lobbying by student organizations with broad support, new funding was provided, and VTR was able to hire three employees, purchase a dedicated truck, and accessory materials, and with these resources was authorized to "re-instate" paper recycling in academic/administrative buildings. This was accomplished, over a span of five months, from mid-October 2008, through late March, 2009, for 60-70 buildings and in all eight colleges. With VTR support (a truck and bins), students from the Environmental Coalition, beginning soon after the budget cuts of 2002, and up to the present (Winter, 2009), have provided paper collection services to various buildings, and residence halls. Recycling from athletic events, particularly home football games, remains a significant challenge, but with the involvement of Athletics, recycling of cans/bottles from the stadium now takes place on a routine basis. Recycling in Residence Halls, historically sporadic and problematic, is being approached comprehensively through Student Programs.

In the course of establishing a durable recycling collections operation, Virginia Tech Recycling initiated significant improvements in the efficiency and cleanliness of campus trash collection, especially during the periods of Student Move-In and Student Move Out. Since 2006, the YMCA, with assistance from VTR, has coordinated the award-winning "Y-Toss?" event, which collects usable discards during Move Out, and resells them (after sorting, cleaning, and repair), to students the following fall through the Y's Thrift Store.

Overall, VTR has sought to demonstrate that recycling, far from being simply an expensive "add-on," brings multiple benefits to basic services.