Battery recycling stations, meant to help students dispose of batteries safely, are now available in Jester East and Jester West. A team of student volunteers disposed of 6,000 pounds of batteries at a battery collection event on Oct. 21.
The Zero Waste student team, a group of students under University Housing and Dining focused on sustainability, first added these bins in early September, but announced the project in a UT Farm Stand Instagram post on Oct. 15. The bins are meant for alkaline batteries, such as AA and AAA batteries.
UHD has had some form of the battery recycling program for about a decade, but students are now helping manage the program through the Green Fund Grant, a sustainability program through UT’s Office of Sustainability, wrote the UHD sustainability manager Cecilia Raatz in a statement. Previously, other residence halls had recycling stations, but they were removed.
“The battery recycling bins in Jester West and Jester East provide an on-campus option for students to recycle their personal batteries, especially for those who may not have access to recycle their batteries through City of Austin,” Raatz wrote. “This is another opportunity for students to be more sustainable and redirect their waste from the landfill.”
Although Austin has centers where residents can recycle batteries around the city, they do not have one on-campus or in West Campus.
Business sophomore Veda Pasumarthi is an intern for Resource Recovery, which is part of Facilities Services and helps connect faculty and staff with responsible waste disposal. Pasumarthi said she assisted in the battery collection event last Wednesday, and it felt rewarding to see people interested in initiatives on campus that help promote sustainability.
UHD has an additional initiative of batteries used by faculty. The Zero Waste student team also oversees cutting down on campus plastic, recycling other electronics and providing event education.
“It’s really inspiring to see how people here, especially on campus, are shifting to Zero Waste and how me and my intern team get to be involved in that,” Pasumarthi said.
