The Sustainability Demonstration House (SDH) held its annual Waste Reduction Drive on Saturday Apr. 11. The event, which started at 9 a.m. and ran into the early afternoon, aims to recycle items that are not easily recyclable. This year, just under 100 pounds of items were collected for recycling. Common items students have in their dorm or home, including deodorant tubes, razors, and dental products, are recycled for free. Other products like fluorescent bulbs are recyclable at a cost of two dollars per pound for large bulbs or four dollars per pound for smaller bulbs. This year, compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs were accepted as well.
The drive brought in 178 pounds of fluorescent bulbs, which pose an environmental risk when thrown away with regular waste due to the small amounts of mercury they contain. The annual waste reduction initiative by the SDH is the most economical way to properly dispose of fluorescent and CFL bulbs in the western Upper Peninsula.
The Sustainability Demonstration House will be collecting the same items next year. Dental items are collected in any condition, deodorant tubes need to be empty but do not need to be clean, makeup and skin-care products can be empty or partially used. Laundered socks and razors are accepted in any condition and Tetrapak containers need to be clean and dry.
Year-round collection has been made available by the SDH members for recycling dental products, makeup and skincare items, and deodorant tubes. Locations can be found at the Portage Lake District Library, Van Pelt and Opie Library, and in Wadsworth Hall.
The SDH has many other sustainability initiatives around campus and the community aiming to reduce waste, conserve resources, and promote self-reliance. The house has integrated an aquaponics and hydroponics system to grow food, has an outdoor garden bee hive, and sustainably taps eight of the seventy maple trees on the property for maple syrup production. The solar array on the east side of campus that many students drive by on their way into campus in the fall supplements power for the SDH, making the house even more sustainable and self-sufficient. The SDH is in the process of moving to a new location starting next semester.
