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NEWS TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KANSAN.COM
ENVIRONMENT
Kansas ranks 7th in RecycleMania
BY BRENA LONG
blong@kansan.com
Ready, set, go recycle. From Jan. 17 to March 27, the University is competing against 381 schools across the nation in RecycleMania. Right now the University ranks 93rd in the competition and seventh in the Big 12.
The competition started in 2001 by the College and University Recycling Council, a network of recycling and
waste management professionals that aim to increase recycling and awareness for students and staff across the county.
"I think a little friendly competition is a good thing," Marshall Wetta, a sophomore from Silver Lake, said. Wetta said he recy
cles on campus and in the residence halls.
"It's always motivating and interesting to see where you are in regards to other Universities."
"I wouldn't have guessed we recycle that much, but I do know how much we waste," Adam Herberg, a senior from Fenton, Mo., said.
Every sheet of paper, piece of cardboard, bottle or can that makes it to a recycling bin on campus or in the residence halls is counted. By Feb. 20, the University had already recycled 72,631 pounds of recyclables.
While that number keeps the University close to passing the University of Nebraska Lincoln for sixth, it doesn't come close to reaching the first place school in the Big 12 - the University of Missouri-Colombia, with 241,327 pounds.
Compared to the first time the
CELESTE HOINS program manager
University competed in RecycleMania in 2009, the number of pounds recycled pounds have dropped. Celeste Hoins, Environmental Stewardship Program manager, said this might mean people are wasting less in the first place
by printing double sided or using digital copies.
KU Recycling tries to make sure what is used gets recycled. The dozens of bins around campus allow students to finish off the last few drops of their soda and recycle without much effort. These bins are located outdoors, in residence halls, in the Kansas and Burge unions and in
campus buildings such as Wescoe.
"If I can't find one somewhere in reach, I can find one in a few strides," Wetta said.
"We appreciate when it is sorted well by the users before hand." Heins said.
All the recyclables are then picked up by KU Recycling and driven to the warehouse on West Campus. Once the truck dumps the empty bottles and stacks of cardboard, KU Recycling starts sorting by hand.
Once the cans are out of the plastics and the paper has found its stack, the materials are bailed and weighed. Then, the recycling staff read and record the floor scale for the weight of the materials. That weight is sent in for the competition.
The University competes for another five weeks, but Hoins said she wasn't concerned about whether the University beats the Corn Huskers or the Tigers.
"It is always fun to have those numbers," Hoins said. "It's always motivating and interesting to see where you are in regards to other Universities."
But more than winning Recyclemania, she said, is her desire for students to develop recycling habits while they're here.
- Edited by Anna Archibald
Reed Niemack, a junior from Lyndon, Kan., separates paper to be bundled and shipped to a recycling plant.
Valerie Skubal/KANSAN
LAWRENCE
Owners of The Casbah offer store's space to The Merc
BY JANENE GIER editor@kansan.com
Owners of The Casbah, a downtown organic market and cafe, offered to sell the store's downtown building to The Merc at the same time they announced plans to close.
York is concerned that a down-
"We wouldn't have to go into debt to do it but, at the same time, we have to make sure we're in compliance with policies of
"The Merc has a strong name and I feel like they can step up the game," Service said.
"If we're going to grow, we have to appeal to other areas. This is the first step in the process."
Street is known for its local businesses and that The Merc would fit in because of its support for local farms and food.
financial stability" said Rita York, general manager of The Merc. "It could put the co-op in jeopardy."
RITA YORK
Merc general manager
"I would love it if The Merc opened a location on Mass, Street, especially if The Casbah is leaving," said Lauren Service, a sophomore from Overland Park.
Service said Massachusetts
As a cooperative, the store is owned and democratically controlled by its members.
town location for The Merc might take business from the main location, which was renovated in 2007. After the remodel, store sales increased by about 27 percent and
membership increased by about 30 percent, York said.
The Merc, 901 Iowa St., is located nearly 2 miles from The Casbah, 803 Massachusetts St. The Casbah sells vegetarian, local and organic food and offers prepared food from its Nice Cafe.
The Merc, a larger full service grocery that specializes in organic and naturally produced food, generates about 20 percent of sales
from its prepared food area, York said. That area includes a coffee, smoothie and juice bar, a soup and salad bar, and a deli case featuring cheeses, meats and prepared foods.
Sarah Hase, customer service manager at The Merc, said that a downtown store would be much smaller than the original. In the 34 years the Merc has been in business, it has moved six times.
If The Merc were to buy The Casbah, it would be The Merc's third try at establishing a location on Massachusetts Street.
"If we're going to grow, we have to
directly before visiting The Merc and the addresses of places they'll go when they leave.
York said the study is being conducted to find out how the store has performed in attracting new customers since the remodeling, allowing for a long-term business plan. Though the study now takes The Casbah offer into consideration, it was planned before that offer was made.
"As a '70s co-op we were pigeonholed as being the dirty hippy co-op."
appeal to other areas", York said. "This is the first step in the process."
RITA YORK Merc general manager
Included in that "first step" is a market study underway at The Merc. The study includes asking customers to provide exact addresses of places they were
York said the last market study occurred before the remodel in 2007. The Merc has succeeded in attracting customers from areas west of the store that it had targeted when
designing the 2007 remodel.
"As a '70s co-op we were pigeonhoed as being the dirty hippy co-op." York said. "We've been trying to shed that perception. We're trying to grow up and be responsible."
Edited by Michael Holtz
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
See a map of past and current locations of The Merc at kansan.com
The Merc, a grocery store specializing in organz foods, was offered the chance to buy The Casbah.
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