1989:
The University of South Carolina began addressing campus environmental concerns with the organization of a Recycling Task Force in 1989. This forum brought together concerned students, faculty, and administrators to begin investigating solid waste issues. Chaired by Dr. Richard Wertz, Vice President of Business Affairs, the task force brought the ideals of waste reduction and recycling into the planning realm. Collectively, this group discussed recycling alternatives and developed policies; creating the original framework for a campus recycling system. This original framework turned out to be the seeds from which our successful campus-wide program would grow.

1990:
Shealy McCoy, Director of Risk Management allocated funds from his budget to staff the newly formed Recycling Office in 1990. He hired a graduate student and an undergraduate student to be the Recycling Coordinators. Together, they sought to develop and implement a recycling program that would capture White Paper, Newspaper, and Aluminum (three materials there were markets for back in 1990). This effort, utilizing volunteers and a federal work study student, helped to introduce our community to the concept of recycling. Materials were collected using indoor containers and one 22 yard outdoor container was donated by Wal-Mart Corporation. The program, however, suffered limitations. It was too small scale and labor intensive to ever hope of reducing our waste stream by the required 25%. It was obvious that some long-term planning was needed to design a large scale system to collect the hundreds of tons per year we had as our waste reduction goal. Even more important was the money that would be needed to build such a system.

1992-1993:
These years represented a period of research and planning. The Recycling Coordinators, Beth McKay and Christopher Thomas, in addition to operating the small scale recycling program, examined all possible funding sources, kept abreast of changes in the local recycling markets, and began designing what would later become Recycle 2000, our campus-wide waste reduction system. Most planning was in the form of idealistically outlining what a successful program would look like. Then they broke the system down into four components: departments, residence halls, campus eateries, and grounds. The Coordinators then set out to determine a cost structure for implementation. Once that was accomplished, all that was left was to find the funding.

Funding came in the form of a developmental grant from the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC). DHEC's Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling issues annual grants to colleges and universities to develop such recycling initiatives. U.S.C. received $22,200 to hire personnel, lease a 1/2 ton pick-up truck, and purchase four outdoor trailers in which to store materials for market. These monies were the turning point in the development of our program. Receiving such a grant gave our efforts credibility and gained the support of the Administration.

1994:
With grant funds to manage and a system to build, Dr. Richard Wertz and Shealy McCoy sat down with the then Graduate Coordinator, Christopher Thomas. Together, they negotiated terms to hire Mr. Thomas on as the University's first full-time Recycling Coordinator. This position, while only temporary in nature, was an opportunity to create the proposed system and prove to the U.S.C. community that recycling works!

That is exactly what happened. Over this first year of full-time attention, U.S.C. went from recycling less than l0 tons to an overwhelming 265 tons. This growth occurred due to the widespread acceptance and dedicated support of numerous individuals across campus. Over 100 departments bought containers for their office areas, the departmental custodial staff redesigned their work to include emptying recycling bins, and Marriott Food Services started a cardboard collection.

This new collection system helped to increase the overall recycling rate to about 35 tons per month, however, this increase in tonnage brought about some challenges. The recovered materials were emptied into plastic bags and then taken outside by the custodial staff. Carrying these heavy bags became a problem because they were constantly splitting, which required extra time for rebagging and cleanup. In addtion, the physical burden of carrying these bags created problems with back injuries and poor employee morale. It became obvious that this manual system of collecting recyclables was in need of re-evaluation.

In August of 1994, a pilot recycling program was initiated within Columbia Hall. This co-ed environment allowed USC Resource Conservation Programs (RCP) to gather feedback representing both genders' attitudes toward recycling. Based on the cumulative response received from this pilot study, Housing and Residence Life, together with the Residence Hall Association (RHA), approved the investment of recycling systems for 22 of the 25 residence halls on campus. The Residence Hall Association (RHA) agreed to pay for all of the recycling containers in the residence halls as part of their commitment to recycling.

RCP is committed to making the Residence Hall Recycling Program a success. We try to work closely with the Residence Life Coordinators, Resident Hall Directors, RHA, and Housing Custodial Zone Managers to improve the recycling program and discuss new educational opportunities. In addition, RCP supplies the necessary labels, educational flyers, Recycling Packets, and any other educational information needed.

Recycling in the residence halls is dependant upon the students living there, and we encourage all residents to participate to make this a successful program. We encourage you to talk to your RA or RHD to learn more about the program or to contact RCP directly.

1995-1996:
With the temporary Recycling Coordinator position coming to an end, another negotiation was made to create a permanent full-time Environmental Programs Manager under Business Affairs -Risk Management. This position was, in addition to continuing the development of our waste reduction system, to assist in the development of conservation programs for all relative areas within the University structure. Such programs would aim at reducing resource consumption, ultimately reducing operating costs.

At this point USC began to consider automating its recycling collection process. We wanted a system that was safe, efficient, and easy. In March of 1996, USC Resource Conservation Programs decided to purchase a new industrial step van with an automated Toter Swing Away lifter and Tommy Gate mounted on the truck. This equipment would alleviate the manual aspect of moving recycled fibers within campus buildings and to the recycling trailers. RCP also purchased 65 and 90 gallon, four wheeled, caster carts from Toter Incorporated. These carts would be used to collect recycled newsprint, mixed paper (colored ledger), and greenbar paper (computer printout paper). They can be easily rolled througout the buildings and rolled outside a building to a designated location on the scheduled pickup day.

This new automated recycling collection system has improved employee morale because it is easy and safe, and has doubled the recycling collections at USC. In addition, there has been an increase in operational efficiency with a reduction in our pickup schedule from 5 days to 3 1/2 days per week. As a result, this has allowed the RCP Recycling Technicians to spend more energy on other areas of the USC Recycling Program. Another benefit of this new system is the high visibility of the uniform caster carts throughout the campus buildings.

1996-1997:
This year brought more changes to the office. A new Environmental Programs Manager was hired and the name of the office was changed to Resource Conservation Programs (RCP). The office name was changed to better reflect the goals of the office. RCP was also restructured and brought under Facilities Management -Campus Services. This move was done to better serve the recycling needs of the University community by working more closely with Custodial Services and Grounds. One of the main objectives of the year was to improve the operational efficiency and service of the recycling program. This was accomplished by evaluating and streamlining our collection schedule, purchasing additional equipment, and working more closely with the custodial staff. New educational efforts included a Recycling Awareness Week display, a USC Recycling Packet, and the posting of more educational flyers. RCP also established a listserv to facilitate communication about the recycling program.

1997-1998:
Our main goal for this year was to focus on educational outreach to the USC campus community. Resource Conservation Programs developed a brochure and updated the USC Recycling Packet. We worked more closely with our departmental contacts (Recycling Facilitators), SAGE- Students Allied for a Greener Earth (USC student organization), the USC Office of Community Service, and Residence Life by providing them with more information about our recycling program and other programs.

1998-1999:
This year is focused on improving the collection of reyclables and becoming more customer-friendly. The construction of outdoor recycling centers will allow us to collect glass, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans. These centers will increase the convenience and visability of recycling. A baler will be installed for cardboard at the Russell House. The amount of collected cardboard will increase because the bookstore and food services will be able to compact and bale their cardboard. An in-vessel composting machine will be installed at the Russel House to divert food prep scraps from the waste stream. The unit will be used and maintained by the Grounds staff and the compost will be used on campus landscaping projects. RCP has also made changes in what types of materials it will accept for collection from the USC community. The grade of paper that we recycle is being changed to true mix. Less confusion will pervade and we will have the ability to recycle almost all paper from campus.

RCP will continue and expand some of its education and public information programs. America Recycles Day and Earth Day activities will be expanded and will continue to be supported by the School of the Environment. This website has been updated to make it more user-friendly. It will become a great asset to the office in "getting the word out" about campus recycling and its other programs. A new recycling guide has been published to help clarify what materials USC recycles and how it recycles them. Detailed labels for containers have been printed to further clarify recyclable materials and where to recycle them.

The merging of the recycling program with the trash collection has integrated waste management at USC. This gives the ability to divert more waste from landfill and put more resources into recycling efforts.