The process begins with a bottle tossed absentmindedly into a recycling bin.
But this is only the beginning of its journey. Along with the rest of UCLA’s massive amount of waste, it will interact with multiple coordinating organizations and sometimes travel thousands of miles.
The double bins have become ubiquitous on campus, beckoning people to throw their plastic bottles, aluminum cans or scrunched-up midterms into the designated container.
Each of the more than 300 trash and recycling bins that litter the university is marked with the same goal: zero waste by 2020.
“It’s a bit ambitious,” said Jesse Escobar, UCLA’s recycling coordinator. “But I think we can do it.”
Story by Kevin Truong