Recycling makes a big impact in decreasing Bucknell's carbon footprint. Each year approximately 1500 tons of garbage is generated by Bucknell University. That's enough trash to fill Sojka Pavilion, Bucknell's basketball arena, in about 3 years!
Recycling boasts a number of savings. Recycling two aluminium cans saves the amount of energy needed to power a PC for eight hours by preventing that aluminium from being extracted in the first place for new cans. Better yet, aluminium is a material that has no limit in the number of times it can be recycled, leading to infinite environmental benefits. Recycling also helps us breath a little easier. Each ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil and 7,000 gallons of water. Those 17 trees still in the ground results in 250 pounds of carbon dioxide absorbed from the air each year.
The campus community recycling efforts in the last 7 years averaged a 24% diversion rate. Thats up from the 17% average prior to that.
Together, we can reduce our overall waste and increase recycling rates that promote environmental, economic, and social good, making Bucknell a more sustainable place to learn, work, and lead.