Recycling Saves CU-Boulder Up To $235,000 Annually, Report Says

May 5, 2003

Contact: Paul Tabolt, 303-492-7524, Ron Stump, 303-492-8477, or Peter Caughey, 303-492-4007

A study of the University of Colorado at Boulder's recycling program shows that it would cost the campus up to $235,000 more per year to dispose of recyclable materials as solid waste.

CU-Boulder's recycling efforts have been nationally recognized for many years, and the study confirms the recycling program has "led to business decisions that are not only good for the environment, but also financially beneficial to the campus," according to the 82-page document.

The study examined the costs and benefits of more than a dozen options for the way the recycling program could be handled, including the option of not recycling at all.
Eliminating all recycling operations would cost from $70,609 to $235,947 more than the cost of continuing recycling, the study found. Also, that estimate does not include the social benefits that recycling provides in resource conservation, landfill reduction, education and employment.

The study was conducted over several months by former CU administrator Stuart Takeuchi at the request of Vice Chancellor for Administration Paul Tabolt and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Ron Stump. The final report was sent to all participants on April 25 and a meeting will be scheduled to discuss comments on the findings.

A newly formed Recycling Financial Advisory Board will be charged with monitoring financial and environmental aspects of the recycling program. "Now that we have a good understanding of the financial and environmental aspects of the program, we have even more incentive to keep the program moving forward," Tabolt said.

The board also will continue to review several options in the campus's efforts to collect, sort and haul recyclable materials that could provide additional financial or environmental benefits. CU-Boulder began recycling in the early 1970s. In 1992, the University of Colorado Student Union began a partnership with the university to collect recyclable materials to be sorted at an on-campus processing facility for hauling and sale.

Recycling at CU-Boulder includes the collection and processing of organic wastes, paper, cardboard, aluminum and steel cans, plastic and glass bottles, newspapers, telephone books, wooden pallets and hard-to-recycle materials including computer disks, waterproof envelopes, plastic transparencies and toner and printer cartridges.

Other facts about CU-Boulder's recycling efforts include:

• During fiscal years 1981 to 2002, the CU Recycling program processed and sold 15,939 tons of recyclable materials for revenue totaling $735,053, or $46 per ton.
• In fiscal year 2002, the percentage of materials diverted from solid waste disposal through the recycling program was 26.7 percent.
• In fiscal year 2002 CU-Boulder spent a total of $908,338 for solid waste collection, hauling and disposal and $495,111 for recycling operations.
• In fiscal year 2002, the cost per ton for solid waste disposal was $227 for 3,997 tons and the cost per ton for recycled materials was $377 for 1,313 tons, not including revenue gained from selling recycled materials. The cost to dispose of today's recyclables as solid waste would require additional investments in capital equipment and the maintenance of that equipment in addition to the loss of revenue, Tabolt said.

The report can be viewed at http://www.colorado.edu/reports/recycling.