Christine Risher and Richard Holmes display the plaque which was presented to them by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Not pictured are James White Jr, Ronald Reid and Jack Edwards.

Environmentally and economically, “It’s the smart thing to do,” and doing a good job at recycling won MUSC recycling coordinator Christine Risher and her crew praise from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Grasping the “Best College or University Recycling Program” plaque from S.C. DHEC, Risher recounted the progress recycling at MUSC has made since it began in earnest in 1992. With Risher’s arrival from her recycling coordinator post at the College of Charleston in 1995, she has tracked the tons of recycled campus waste. Beginning with mixed office paper, she has expanded the program to include additional recyclables like newsprint, cardboard, scrap metal, magazines, books and lead acid batteries.

“MUSC has more than 400 office paper recycling bins with 200 more being distributed. We also have more than 200 aluminum can recycling bins with 150 being distributed,” Risher said. The aluminum MUSC collects goes to the Aluminum Cans for Burned Children (ACBC) program which has raised more than a million dollars state-wide for pediatric burn-related needs in the past 11 years.

“We recycle all fluorescent light tubes, lead acid batteries and used oil,” she said. “Groundskeepers collect all yard waste for the Charleston County compost facility. Maintenance personnel separate scrap metal in a 20-yard roll-off container, and the construction and engineering personnel have been working with private contractors working on campus to recycle cardboard, scrap metal, concrete and asphalt.” Make that 704,000 pounds of asphalt and 2,552,000 pounds of concrete.

The MUSC Medical Center shreds outdated patient records for recycling and the Radiology Department recovers silver and X-ray film. The College of Dental Medicine recycles precious metals, and patient vitals sensors are recycled by the Department of Surgery. MUSC’s Occupational Safety and Health Department also has been distilling ethanol, toluene and xylene.

“Each year we add more items to the list of recyclables,” Risher said. Recycling is about saving resources, but what does it save MUSC? About five cents a pound. Down from costing 12 cents a pound to just throw it away, it costs MUSC only seven cents a pound to recycle its solid waste, Risher said.

It also pays to promote recycling, both on campus and off. Risher said MUSC recyclers have published the Recycling Times newsletter, run articles in The Catalyst, and attracted TV attention from their first-ever Earth Day event. Students are reminded about recycling with a full page ad in their phone book, and Risher and her crew seek pledges from the MUSC family to recycle waste.

Taking the effort into the community, Dr. Recycle, the program’s mascot, attends events like Berkeley County Kids Who Care and ACBC campaigns. He visits children in the hospital and attends children’s environmental education seminars. Program staff also participate in the Charleston Clean City Sweep and volunteer in other community events.