Bailee Abell
Associated Students Beat Reporter
Representatives from the Associated Students Recycling unit called for senate support of The Green Initiative Fund grant at the Feb. 4 meeting of the University of California, Santa Barbara AS Senate.
AS Recycling administrative coordinator Samuel Breyfogle stated that the organization is applying for a grant from TGIF, which was created in 2006 in order to support projects that “reduce the University’s impact on the environment,” according to the UCSB Sustainability website.
“We are applying for a TGIF grant to approve [funding] of Berthas,” said Breyfogle.
“Berthas” are the four-slot beige containers for recycling and landfill waste that are located at approximately 80 locations on the UCSB campus, including the residence halls. According to Breyfogle, the containers were installed approximately 20 years ago, and the current signage reflects the waste management practices at that time, with four separate bins within the containers that read, “Newspapers,” “Aluminum and Plastic,” “Glass,” and “Trash.”
“Now, we have a co-mingled recycling system where everything can get mixed together,” said Breyfogle. “We’d like to get signs that say ‘Co-mingled Recycling,’ and then underneath that a list of materials that can be recycled, because we find that we receive many questions about what sorts of materials actually are recyclable.”
Breyfogle stated that the new signs will hopefully reduce confusion and help UCSB more appropriately sort its waste, “which will help us move toward the UC goal of zero waste by 2020.”
Additionally, the TGIF grant will fund new bins for the interior of the Berthas.
“Many of the bins have holes bitten through by rodents, causing them to leak and completely mess up the interior,” said Breyfogle. “Having this would help clean up the campus’s rodent infestation. We are asking for $7,660, so we would love your approval for this. I think that would go a long way for the TGIF committee.”
Later in the meeting, the senate unanimously passed A Resolution In Support of Recycling Bin Upgrades to show their approval of AS Recycling’s receiving of a TGIF grant. The TGIF Grants Making Committee will be voting on grant approval on Friday, Feb. 6.