Dallas College has been taking its own steps to build greener campuses. However, many students and staff at Eastfield are questioning new recycling policies.

Since 2009, all seven campuses have worked to improve energy efficiency, conserve resources and enhance environmental quality. Recently, though, those efforts have looked different.

Dallas College’s previous recycling vendor was not “cutting it,” according to the Chief Facilities Officer at Dallas College Scott Wright. “On occasions, our previous vendor would show up with a garbage truck and [concurrently] throw trash and recyclables in them,” he said.

When confronted the vendor would say that their “recycling facilities were full.” Another issue was students or staff were contaminating the recycling bins. This led Wright to cut ties with Dallas College’s previous system of recycling.

Since then, Dallas College has moved away from single-stream recycling. Now, “high-demand materials, for example cardboard, will be recycled,” Energy Manager at Dallas College Garret Rosser said. Since March 2024, all seven campuses’ metals are sold to Encore Recycling, cardboard as well as paper is recycled and reused by the Smurfit Kappa Group, International Paper Co. and Data Shredding Services of Texas, Inc. Looking ahead, “compost programs” may be implemented too, Rosser said.

Apart from recycling efforts, Wright added that Dallas College is lowering its environmental footprint by providing “two electric vehicles to campus police … restoring prairie lands and conserving energy use.” In addition, Dallas College-Richland has a tree farm in partnership with the Texas Trees Foundation, which has been in place for 20 years now. The Cedar Valley campus also has a green roof and an outdoor learning area, and Eastfield College utilizes solar panels to generate energy.

The college has also started planting trees separate from other tree operations, which include student and staff volunteers. Rosser said that there will be a tree planting near the sports courts on March 21.

Wright said that campuses will add recycling signs to designated bins soon so students will know where to recycle other items, not just metal cans.

Students and staff must dispose of trash in the part of the bin designated for trash, not in the part labeled for cans.

Rosser pointed out a major issue with sustainability efforts now, saying “less than 20% of plastic that makes it to a recycling facility is recycled.” This means 80% of plastic recycled by a typical person ends up in landfills.

Both Wright and Rosser stressed that students and staff should be “on the lookout for flyers around campus” regarding recycling.

One program Rosser said will need student cooperation is having a plastic-free vending program — a step in the right direction since the campuses are aiming for zero waste by 2040. By taking an active role in these initiatives, students, faculty and staff can help transform Dallas Colleges into campuses that meet the recycling needs of the future.