Earth’s future depends on sustainability, so it was only fitting that half the audience for Friday’s ribbon cutting ceremony for the county’s recycling center represented the future of Harnett County.
First graders from Buies Creek Elementary helped kick off the opening of the Campbell Convenience Site, which will offer household trash collection and commingled recycling, as well as book and textile recycling at 117 Kivett Road in Buies Creek, less than a mile from Campbell’s main campus. Officials from Harnett County and Campbell lauded the site and stressed the importance of recycling to the mostly young crowd (mascots Gaylor and Can Man were on hand to help).
“The average college student produces 500 to 600 pounds of solid waste per year,” Campbell Vice President for Student Life Dennis Bazemore said. “Multiply that by our student body, and that’s almost 3 million pounds of waste annually. We have an opportunity with this convenience site to educate them and work with them on recycling and improving this campus’ overall sustainability.”
The new site features self-contained compactors for trash and recycling, which county officials say are more sanitary and offer a more pleasant appearance than the traditional open-top containers. There is also a drop-off unit for donations to Beacon Rescue Mission, an organization that provides for Harnett County’s homeless.
Hours are from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. every day of the week except for Wednesday and Sunday. An attendant will be on site during business hours.
County Engineer Amanda Bader said the previous site in Buies Creek was forced to close because of illegal dumping. She said the addition of compactors, as well as an on-site staff member, will prevent the problem in the future.
“This serves as the county’s first line of defense for illegal dumping and littering,” she said. “We are also excited to partner with Republic Services to provide environmental education and encourage stewardship throughout the county. Recycling is not only positive for the environment but also offers economic opportunities for our state.”
Michael Larsen, associate professor and environmental sciences chair at Campbell, said he’s been involved in recycling efforts at the University for the past 20 years. He said Friday’s ceremony was the result of a lot of hard work from a lot of people.
“Recycling not only saves energy and resources, but it saves us money, too,” Larsen said. “I’m excited to see what we talk about in our classes coming to life here. I’m passionate about this opportunity for Campbell. This school’s theme is ‘leading with purpose’ — it’s what we’ve always done — and this site is part of that. We’re taking what we’ve learned and putting it into action.”
For more information on the Campbell Convenience Site, visit harnett.org/waste/.