Residents at University Village, an apartment complex on 1701 North 10th Street, have expressed concerns about the facility’s waste management, claiming that the apartment complex does not recycle.
Brooke Rutherford, a junior at Temple University, used to be a resident at University Village and says that the facility does not provide a place to recycle.
“I’ve noticed that even if you do put recyclables out, they just throw it away with the rest of the trash.” she added. “The place I live now doesn’t recycle.”
Sam Sinha is a junior at Temple and a resident at University Village for 3 years. He also says that the facility does not recycle.
“I really wish this building had a recycling options, because there are times where I need to recycle cans and plastic bags, but I’m not able to. So I have to dispose of them along with food trash.”
According to the residents, there is a designated area where they bring
their waste materials to be disposed of. Signs state to “bag all trash before placing into
bins.”
“You go dispose the trash in the trash room,” Sam added, “Same for the other floors, it’s only one room for each and every floor in this building.”
“I was really confused because Temple is supposed to pride itself on being diverse and being cutting edge, and stuff like that. When their main housing option doesn’t have recycling, a pretty basic thing that we covered in the eighties, it was definitely jarring.” said Holden Aryes, a sophomore who also lived at the facility.
Rebecca Collins, the Director of Sustainability at Temple University, said that the university is not responsible for University Village waste and recycling procedures because the facility is an independent business.
“I know that every resident in the city of Philadelphia, by law, is required to dispose of trash and recycling in a responsible and legal way.” she added. “All residents are required to separate trash and recycling”
According to Philadelphia Streets website, residents and facilities can be fined if their waste is not disposed of properly. Particularly for those that have recyclables in their trash.
Vice President Dan Barry of American Campus Communities, which operates University Village, released a statement to Temple Update which said, “Our commitment to students includes a commitment to protecting the future of their environment. University Village Temple has a recycling program in place for both residents and management.”He later added that the residence can dispose of their recyclable waste in the green bins inside the courtyard
If you are not sure where to recycle, ask your landlord or building management to see how you can dispose of your waste properly.
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