Wednesday, November 3. 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 3
Environmentalists dispute Coke's use of plastic
By Todd Halstead writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Environmental groups at the national level and at the University of Kansas say that Coca-Cola is giving to the environment by failing to use recycled contents in its bottles.
"I think it's clear that at this point they're not willing to make a commitment to recycling," said Rick Best, president of the GrassRoots Recycling Network. "Their issue is that basically as a policy they have decided that they don't want to do anything that costs them anymore than using virgin plastics."
The GrassRoots Recycling Network is a national environmental organization that has been
involved in a campaign against Coca-Cola for its failure to use recycled contents in the production of plastic bottles.
Best said that when open communication between the Network and Coca-Cola failed to produce the use of recycled contents, the Network began a direct-action campaign against the company. It urged consumers to mail empty plastic bottles to Coca-Cola's Chief Executive Officer with the message, "Take it back, and use it again."
He said last summer a telephone company, Working Assets Long Distance, informed more than 300,000 customers about the Network's campaign, which resulted in more than 30,000 responses to Coca-Cola.
"That, along with ads placed in The
Shannon Martin, coordinator of KU Environs, said the organization was interested in raising this issue on campus.
New York Times, really went a long way in bringing this issue to the attention of the public." Best said.
"We've talked about putting up signs on machines telling people that aluminum is much more easily recycled than plastic and also that Coke has refused to use recycled plastics," Martin said.
Bill Sheehan, coordinator of the Network, said that aluminum also was detrimental to the environment and that the inexpensive costs to produce plastic ensured that Coca-Cola would not be swayed into abandoning the material.
"I think the message would be
Martin said KU Environs had contacted Coca-Cola about employing recycled plastic bottles. In a reply letter, she said, the company wrote that it had looked into using recycled plastics but that it was not economically feasible.
stronger if you say that you want it in a recycled plastic package because plastic is not going to go away," Sheehan said.
Best said companies such as Gatorade and Ocean Spray were using recycled plastics, so it was possible and reasonable in terms of economics.
Victoria Silva, environmental program manager of Resource Conservation and Recycling, said that her organization had more than 100 recycling bins for plastic
bottles and more than 50 multi-use bins across campus.
Sharon Ashworth, a graduate teaching assistant in environmental studies, said that plastics virtually were indestructible.
She said Coca-Cola identified $100,000 for start-up costs of the recycling program and $10,000 per year to be reserved for recycling until its 10-year contract with the University, which was sigmed last year, ended.
"If you look at the end result you've got this massive amount of material that's going into landfills that's not being recycled," Ashworth said. "If they're creating new plastic every time they make a Coke bottle, then they are using a lot of virgin materials."
— Edited by Jamie Knodel
New bill asks the University to stop all ethnic harassment
By Chris Borniger
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Increasing minority rights at the University of Kansas is a positive step, some student senators say, but one said it shouldn't come at the expense of free speech.
A bill that will be presented before Student Senate committees tonight would expand the University's definition of racial and ethnic harassment to include actions that negatively affect one's working, living or academic environment. The new definition also would include discriminatory or offensive comments and racially explicit statements, questions, iokes or anecdotes.
Shyra McGee, non-traditional senator and legislation sponsor, said that she wanted to focus awareness on racial equality at the University. As an African American, she said something happened every year to make her feel like her comfort zone
had been violated.
"I wanted to start a dialogue about what's going on on campus," she said. "I want the University of Kansas to be a friendly environment for everyone."
McGee said st proposed amendment after the University's sexual harassment policy.
the McGee said she modeled the
Yet, that policy specifically cites harassment occurring in academic or workplace environments, said J.D. Jenkins, senior holdover senator. McGee's proposed amendment would unjustly cover living environments as well, he said.
"It suggests a ban everywhere," Jenkins said. "That would be really scary. We can't go around giving some people rights and taking others' away."
Kevin Sivits, president of the University chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union, said the proposed amendment was unnecessary, and would infringe upon already protected realms of free speech.
"This takes a questionable policy and makes it worse," he said. "It's very vague."
Should Senate pass the bill and University administrators approve it, Jenkins said, the University could be susceptible to a lawsuit. Nonetheless, he said he agreed with the spirit of the proposed policy.
"My opposition to it isn't racially motivated," he said. "We're just trying to work the bugs out."
McGee, one of the bill's 12 minority sponsors, said she understood the concerns of Jenkins and the ACLU, but that the current policy was inadequate.
"Saying nothing should be done about it is not a good idea," she said.
Edited by Brad Hallier
City, developer in lease feud
By Derek Prater
writer@kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
By Derek Prater
The rehabilitation of the Barb Wire Building hit a snag at last night's Lawrence City Commission meeting.
Mike Elwell, developer of the project at 8 E. Sixth St., and Jerry Cooley, city attorney, traded muted barbs in reference to the history of the project and a new draft lease agreement that city staff presented to Elwell last month.
The Barb Wire Building and the ground underneath it are owned by the city. Elwell said he had spent about $1.5 million renovating the building, which will include a sculpture gallery, live music, food and drink.
"This should be done in a spirit of cooperation to achieve a common goal, and in that spirit, we should recognize each one's needs and go forward," Elwell said. "My view is that the way this has been handled from day one is as an adversarial situation."
Elwell said he thought that the proposed lease draft was so dramatically different from the original lease that he wanted to take his case straight to the commission rather than meet with city staff. He said he refused to meet with city staff to
make a point.
Cooley said the new lease was only a draft and was meant as a starting point for discussions.
"We sit down and look at the concerns," he said. "That's how we negotiate."
The dispute centers on changes from the original lease that Elwell signed in 1991.
Elwell said the draft cut 43 percent from the duration of the original lease, added $4,800 in rent per year as well as several other requirements that he felt were unfair.
Cooley said the changes were justified to protect city interests because Elwell had not met prior requirements and the nature of the project had been changed. For example, it included a drinking establishment.
Elwell said his intentions were clear from the start and that he had been unable to obtain an occupancy permit, a requirement for the lease, because of factors including the dilapidated state of the building and city restrictions.
City commissioners agreed that the project would be an asset to the community and directed city staff to meet with Elwell to come up with a compromise. They have allowed 30 days for an agreement to be worked out.
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