The city of Lubbock will transport recycling materials from the Texas Tech campus to its sorting centers.
Texas Tech University and the city of Lubbock have established a partnership to provide a city-supported recycling center located north of the Physical Plant building on the Texas Tech campus.
Recycled material will be collected campus-wide and brought to the facility with the city of Lubbock then transporting the materials off campus to its recycling sorting center. There are approximately 20 bins located at the new recycling center. Accepted materials include aluminum and various paper and plastics. The recycling center is accessible to the entire campus community for both office and personal recycling.
With the support of the Office of the President, this partnership provides an opportunity to emphasize the importance of the campus sustainability program and utilize recycling as one component within it. This community partnership not only increases environmental awareness but also produces educational value and strengthens Texas Tech's commitment to members of the campus and Lubbock communities.
“The City of Lubbock is excited to partner with Texas Tech on its recycling effort,” said Brenda Haney, city of Lubbock Solid Waste director. “This partnership will improve the overall recycling opportunities in the community and will expand the environmental efforts of both parties. The city looks forward to a great collaboration and building a long-term relationship on recycling between the two programs.”
Since 1995, Texas Tech has placed an emphasis on campus-wide recycling as part of a larger sustainability initiative.
“The recycling efforts of students, faculty and staff have helped Texas Tech earn a Bronze rating on the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) Report,” said Carey Hewett, managing director of business services and campus sustainability officer with the university's Operations Division. “This partnership is a great opportunity for the university.”
This partnership with the city of Lubbock provides an opportunity to carry on the recycling program previously provided by University Student Housing, which took the initiative to bring a very successful recycling center to campus in 2009. According to statistics provided by University Student Housing, the Texas Tech community recycled 855 tons of material in 2020, the final year of the program, including 21 tons of cardboard during fall move-in weekend alone.
The new recycling center partnership continues the campus recycling initiative, providing the Texas Tech campus a cost-effective recycling center.
