University officials recently announced that recycling bins will be put in the hallways of the Lawyers Club, thanks to a change in Ann Arbor’s recycling procedures.
The Lawyers Club, a residence hall for law students located within the Law Quad, has been unable to house recycling bins in its hallways because University fire marshals ruled that they would be a safety hazard in cases of emergency, according to Lawyers Club officials. Instead, students living in the Law Quad have had to take their recyclable waste to centrally located bins.
This summer, the City of Ann Arbor will change its recycling system from requiring three separate recycling bins to requiring one. This will allow officials to place bins in Law Quad halls without them being a fire hazard because there will be fewer bins involved.
In a letter sent to Lawyers Club residents earlier this month, Lawyers Club director Diane Nafranowicz wrote that the Lawyers Club will aim to house recycling bins in hallways in addition to regular trash cans next year.
“Once this change is made, our goal is to identify additional residential based sites where a recycling bin will provide additional convenience for Club residents,” Nafranowicz wrote.
Nanfranowicz added that the change will allow Law School officials to better balance safety concerns and students’ concerns about recycling availability.
“The balance between the life-safety needs of the Club and all other needs is a serious consideration, as is an interest in ‘going green,’” she wrote. “We look forward to single-stream recycling and improving your ease in participating in this process.”
While the recycling changes will occur this summer, Nanfranowicz did not specify in the letter when the Lawyers Club will adopt the new recycling practices.
As reported in a Jan. 29 Michigan Daily article, law students found recycling inconvenient because they were forced to walk to a separate lounge outside the residence hall to recycle their materials.
In the letter, Nafranowicz explained that recycling receptacles had to be kept separate from trash bins.
“lf we were to search for bin space in the living sections, we would have to identify approved space that could hold sufficient receptacles to accommodate the various types of recyclables,” she wrote.
In addition to the residence hall, the Lawyers Club also currently houses office space called Block P, which produces paper waste like most office spaces. The Law School is currently renting Block P from the Lawyers Club to use as office space during the Law School’s two-year renovation.
However, Lawyers Club and Law School officials disagree on which entity is responsible for recycling in Block P, according to the Jan. 29 Daily article.
Nafranowicz’s letter did not mention how recycling would now be handled in Block P, and she could not be reached for comment last night.
Nathan Moore, a first-year Law student and member of the Environmental Law Society, lobbied for better recycling options through the Environmental Law Committee. He said he is excited that the Lawyers Club will finally have recycling bins within the residential area.
“I think it’s great,” Moore said. “It really was a huge hole in our recycling plan here at the Law School so it was key to get (Lawyers Club officials) on board, and we’ve been trying for a while and were thrilled to see it (happen).”