Recycling RecycleBank

Even after a tremendously successful pilot program last year, RecycleBank's kiosks have not yet appeared outside first-year residence halls. A recent e-mail to University participants claimed
that expansion would not take place until the kiosk pilot program has been improved. The University should persuade RecycleBank to resolve these issues quickly and ensure that more of the community can join in.

Early last semester, RecycleBank initiated a program that allows students to weigh and deposit recyclables at special kiosks in exchange for reward points at merchants such as Apple Tree Market, Chipotle, and Pinkberry. The system, which has been tested in first-year residence halls, reached the pages of Time magazine and helped Columbia earn recognition from the Sustainable Endowments Institute as one of the top 15 schools in overall sustainability efforts. But despite motivation from the University's Office of Environmental Stewardship, plans to expand RecycleBank beyond first-year residence halls are still up in the air. The company has chosen to continue the pilot phase of the program to address issues made apparent by student surveys, with no expansion possible until 2009. RecycleBank officials say they are still determining whether the program causes students to recycle more than they would otherwise, and if a broader array of rewards would make the program more effective. Any plan to increase RecycleBank's scale remains tentative.

There is no reason the rest of the campus should not be included in RecycleBank's kiosk program. The Office of Environmental Stewardship has already determined that recycling in first-year dormitories has increased since the program's inception. The department has made it
clear that the University will do whatever it can to hasten the modification process and achieve a cleaner, greener neighborhood. Although it will cost money to put kiosks across campus, a larger
testing pool could uncover even more problems before the system reaches other universities, ultimately saving capital. The University must ensure that this recycling program expands as soon
as possible.

More than just offering free eats to undergraduates or positive press to administrators, RecycleBank's program instills a sense of environmental responsibility in members of the Columbia community that will remain strong even when tangible rewards are no llonger there. RecycleBank's kiosk program is already a success, but the University must guarantee that it reaches its full potential.