New recycling center policy could impact PSU students

Southeast Kansas Recycling no longer accepts volunteers due to liability issues.

By Cecily Stephens

March 5, 2023

UPDATE: PSU’s Move-out Madness sale will take place at SEKR June 16-17, 2023.

Key Takeaways

• SEKR no longer accepts on-site volunteers due to liability issues
• PSU students who do volunteer work could be affected
• SEKR could not have survived without volunteers, many of whom were PSU students

The recent decision by a local recycling center to stop accepting volunteers at its facility could affect Pittsburg State University students who engage in volunteer work.

Southeast Kansas Recycling, which has served the Pittsburg community and the surrounding areas since 2003, is no longer using volunteers at the site because of liability issues.

“We can’t find a carrier that will insure us if we accept volunteers at the center,” said Jerry Babcock, who retired as operations manager of SEKR last December. “We explored every avenue we could find, and none of them panned out.”

Subsequently, the decision was made by the SEKR board to discontinue using on-site volunteer help. Staff and supporters of the center are concerned about the impact of the new policy, not only because of the loss of much-needed assistance at the center but because volunteers develop a deeper understanding of the value of recycling and encourage others to participate.

“They get a good look at how much would end up in the landfills if it weren’t recycled,” Babcock said. “And they spread the word.”  

SEKR could not have survived its early years without the help of its dedicated volunteers. An appreciable number of those volunteers were students from PSU.

“For years, we ran on a shoestring,” Babcock said. “We depended on volunteers to keep the center going.”  

SEKR eventually gained support from several local organizations, as well as funding from Crawford County and the City of Pittsburg, but since the tasks of collecting, sorting and processing vast amounts of recyclable material are formidable, it still relied on volunteer help with daily operations. PSU students were a significant part of the workforce.

The site operates a drive-through facility where the public can bring their recyclable materials and there are special accommodations for businesses and the drop-off of large or unusual items. 

“Over the years we have seen quite a bit of expansion,” said Cassandra Short, the new operations manager of SEKR. “We process over a thousand tons of material a year.” 

The center now has an e-waste program, a household hazardous waste service, a machine that recycles Styrofoam and a “pay-as-you-throw” program that allows people to dispose of their nonrecyclable trash along with the recyclable content. SEKR also operates New to You, an on-site reuse store that includes the Kitchen Café, which sells a wide variety of kitchen items, and the Book Nook, a used bookstore.

PSU has an active partnership with SEKR and has instituted multiple recycling programs on campus. The university encourages its students to participate in activities that promote sustainable lifestyles, and many of them elect to volunteer for recycling campaigns.

One example is “Move-in Mayhem” at the beginning of the fall term when students move into university housing. The event is coordinated by Students for Sustainability, a PSU organization that promotes sustainable practices on campus and in the community. The activity generates an average of 3,000 pounds of cardboard and other recyclable materials each year, collected and processed by volunteers for delivery to SEKR.

PSU student Joseph Martin, who works in the Student Government Association, said that student volunteers from a registered university organization should be covered the school’s liability. insurance.

“Also, they’re usually required to sign waivers of liability for events,” Martin said.

But a signature event that could be impacted by SEKR’s new policy is the annual “Move-out-Madness” sale, hosted by Students for Sustainability and SEKR. At the end of the spring term, volunteers collect new or slightly used items discarded by departing PSU students. Instead of tossing reusable or recyclable material into the dumpsters, students can leave the material at collection stations that are set up in university housing.

The collected items are stored, sorted and sold at a two-day event held at the recycling center. The proceeds are used for the PSU group’s sustainability projects, and unsold items are donated to SEKR’s reuse store or to thrift stores that support local charities.

It is unclear how the new policy will affect Move-out Madness, since it is held on the grounds of SEKR. Catherine Hooey, PSU professor and faculty advisor to Students for Sustainability, expressed concern that the policy might lead to its cancellation.

“The people in the Pittsburg area look forward to the sale, especially those who have limited income,” Hooey said. “The students who participate in the event gain valuable insights. Volunteering for events like this is about more than keeping the items out of the landfills, or generating extra funds for our projects—it raises awareness of the need for sustainable practices and contributes to a sense of community.”

For more information about PSU’s sustainability programs, see https://www.pittstate.edu/president/initiatives/sustainability/index.html

For more information about SEKR, see  https://www.sekrecycling.org/

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