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http://www.dailyemerald.com
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 88
S'
Recycling to update sorting methods
I ne campus Kecycling
program will be switching
to collect-all containers
to encourage recycling
By Caron Alarab
Senior News Reporter
Every term for the past two
years, junior Quintin Bauer has
sorted the campus soda bottles
from the cans and the newspapers
from the term papers.
And he loves every minute of it.
"This is probably the best job I can
think of right now," the Campus Re
cycling employee said.
Bauer is just one of 40 students
who collect and sort campus recy
clables, which need to be trash free
for Campus Recycling to sell them
in bulk.
"Probably everything you get is
gonna have a little trash in it," Bauer
added. "But lots of times the recycling
is right by a garbage can."
Bauer said he has become "kind
of obsessed" with recycling
through his job, which is why he
doesn't mind sorting through all
purpose recycling cans.
"It's really not that big of a
deal," he said. "And people recycle
more that way than if they had to
sort it themselves."
Environmental Resource and Recy
cling Program Manager Karyn Kaplan
said the program has shifted more to
ward the "collect-all system" for that
exact reason: to encourage recycling.
Although sorted containers, such as
the one outside the Buzz Coffee
house, may seem to make the sorter's
job easier, Kaplan said the single bins
that allow for multiple types of recy
cling will soon dominate the campus.
"(Sorted bins) are scheduled to be
upgraded soon," she said. "We just
don't have room for them."
Despite the manpower that goes
into the process of sorting recyclables,
Kaplan said the biggest and most
consistent problems with campus
Campus Recycling employee Quintin Bauer is one of 40 students who collects and sorts recyclables.
recycling are "high contamination
levels," a result of the trash and food
waste thrown in the mix.
"Either these people are not dis
cerning recycling from trash cans, or
they just don't care;" Student Recycling
Coordinator Jeff Ziglinski said. "Ideal
istically, everyone would put every
thing in the appropriate containers."
One way the program has handled
the problem is by strategically placing
recycling bins next to garbage cans. By
making the recycling option more ac
cessible, Kaplan said bin placement
has significantly reduced contamina
tion levels on campus.
"We sort everything and we get
paid for that because our recycling is
really clean," she said.
Once all the paper, plastic, alu
minum and glass recydables have
been sorted on campus, each
contamination-free material is sold
in bulk to one of several local and
statewide companies. Hence, while
recycled cans are marketed to an alu
minum dealer, color paper gets
turned into a pulp for environmen
tally friendly toilet paper. All glass
and plastic is dealt to BRING Recy
cling, one of the nation's oldest non
profit recyclers, according to
http://www.bringrecycling.org.
"So we just get it to the appropriate
materials brokers, and they market
it," Kaplan added.
Local garbage and recycling collec
tor Sanipac uses a system similar to
the University's "collect-all system,"
which is called "co-mingling," Kaplan
said. The company recendy switched
from boxes with separate compart
ments for different items to all-pur
pose recycling bins because too many
Eugeneans failed to sort their recy
clables properly.
Instead of using trucks that hold
separate containers, Sanipac now
puts all recyclable materials into one
container, ships it to Portland and
leaves the rest to a central team of
sorters and a conveyor belt.
Because the University does not
take cardboard, food cans and light
plastic recycling in its bins like Sanipac
does, Kaplan said students can some
times get confused and put the wrong
recyclables in campus containers.
"This brings up an issue for us be
cause recycling options are inconsis
tent (from the city to campus)," Ka
plan said. "People really need to pay
attention to the different rules."
Contact the business/science/
technology reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
Graduates
help kids
get quality
education
Teach for America offers the
chance to help underprivileged
students at schools nationwide
By Chelsea Duncan
News Reporter
Years ago, a few University students
walked by an information table in the EMU
lobby that would change their lives forever.
This week, those fonner students are back
to recruit others for Teach For America, a
two-year program that sends college gradu
ates to teach in low-income, rural and urban
communities nationwide.
U niversity graduate and Teach For Ameri
ca alumnus Quinton Vance, who walked by
the Teach for America information table sev
en years ago, is now the principal of a South
Bronx middle school in New York City.
"It takes a very open-minded person to
go into teaching as a young person and
make the kind of changes you want to
make," he said.
Currently, 24 University graduates are in
the Teach For America program, working
throughout the country to help underprivi
leged children get a good education. A total
of about 3,200 corps members work in 20
low-income, rural and urban communities.
Teachers are paid a salary through the
school district where they are located
and generally receive health benefits
and insurance.
University graduate Sam Myers, one of
the program's campaign coordinators on
campus, said the goal for the 2004-2005
school year is to hire 2,000 new teachers na
tionally, including 20 from the University.
'They look for people with leadership ex
perience (and) volunteer experience.
Turn to TEACH, page 4
New state law mandates motorists stop for pedestrians
According to Senate Bill 315,
motorists can receive a ticket
for failing to stop and remain
stopped for pedestrians
By Lisa Catto
News Reporter
Drivers must say good-bye to rolling
stops at crosswalks and intersections if a
pedestrian is crossing the street accord
ing to a new Oregon law that took ef
fect Jan. 1.
The Oregon Legislature passed
Senate Bill 315 last session, also known
as the "Stop and Stay Stopped" bill,
which changes a previous law dictating
what motorists can do at crosswalks.
The major change the law brings is
the chance of a ticket for failing to stop
and remain stopped. A motorist can be
ticketed when he or she does not re
main still while a pedestrian is crossing
an area without a traffic control device,
such as a stop sign.
However, drivers do not have to
stop for a pedestrian on the other side
of an island.
Drivers are required to stop for
pedestrians when making a turn,
whether it is a one-way or two-way
street
Many other amendments in the
bill replace the words "yield the
right of way to" with "remain
stopped for" pedestrians.
Currently the base fine for violating
the new law is $140, but depending
on how the Eugene City Council
votes in the next few weeks, it could
be raised to $237.
EPD spokeswoman Pam Olshanski
said EPD is seeking clarification on the
bill specific to controlled intersections
and at which point motorists are able
to proceed when a pedestrian passes.
In the meantime, EPD will still en
force the law.
"We have an obligation to enforce
the laws in place," she said. "If an offi
cer sees a public safety issue, they will
certainly enforce it."
Willamette Pedestrian Coalition co
President Linda Baker said that WPC
founding member Ellen Vanderslice
has been working for the legislative
change since 1993.
"We're very concerned about pedes
trian fatalities and making a more
pedestrian-friendly state," Baker said.
State Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Port
land, has sponsored the bill in each Leg
islative session since 1997 to make these
changes. A version of the bill went
through the Oregon Senate in 2001, but
it didn't make it past the Oregon House.
The successful bill in the 2003 leg
islative session was co-sponsored by
Sens. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin;
Rick Metsger, D-Mt. Hood; John
Minnis, R-Fairview; and Rep. Jackie
Dingfelder, D-Portland.
Turn to PEDESTRIANS, page 4
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