|Illustration by Michael Strubler|

As college students living in the twenty first century, we obviously produce a lot of waste. For example, the extra food we dump out in the DC, the crumpled paper containing part of an essay we just can’t figure out how to start, and countless empty coffee cups from Sacred Grounds.

However, the campus disposes of much more serious waste than these basically harmless items. There is always an abundance of light bulbs, batteries, electronics, waste oil, anti-freeze, and paint to be “trashed.”

Where do these things go, and what becomes of them once they are removed from Campus? Jim Baisden, Maintenance Supervisor for the Physical Plant, explained many of the ways the waste from campus is dealt with.

The Physical Plant maintains buildings and grounds for the entire campus, including the disposal of our toxic and nontoxic waste. Light bulbs, batteries, and electronics are universal waste, and sent to an outside contractor called Clean Lights Recycling Company.

The hazardous materials such as used oil, paint, and anti-freeze, are stored outside the building, where they will eventually be transported to a recycling company in Jackson called HUCO.

The Plant does everything in it’s power to ensure a safe, and healthy campus for all of the college students who enjoy the beautiful Spring Arbor environment. Mr. Baisden stated that the Physical Plant has joined a peer audit group, which consists of other small schools like Spring Arbor who are devoted to helping each other in effective waste removal. Baisden had to undergo hours of training, especially training on how to handle a chemical spill, should one occur.

Baisden explained how companies are now working on producing more Latex based paint, which can be disposed of down a drain. Most everything we “waste” is being recycled, and what isn’t, is being properly disposed of. However, there are still improvements being made to the system.