By Carrington Davis
The Scene staff
Forest Park has big blue recycling bins all over campus so people can dispose of their bottles, cans and paper in an environmentally friendly way.
But it’s an illusion.
The college isn’t recycling items from the bins. Housekeepers are throwing most of their contents in with regular trash.
“That is correct,” President Julie Fickas confirmed on Monday when asked by The Scene.
She referred other questions to Eric Wille, manager of the Forest Park facilities department, which includes housekeeping. He replaced Matthew Davis 10 months ago.
Wille noted that the campus has recycling bins, but he said in an interview that he wasn’t sure if it had a program for recycling their contents.
“I don’t know,” he said last week.
Jessica DeCuir, an adjunct faculty member in art, has witnessed housekeepers throwing contents of recycling bins in with regular trash. It bothers her.
DeCuir said she isn’t trying to get anyone in trouble. She just wants to help the college get back on the recycling track.
“I personally take all my recycling home with me now because I’ve seen what happens,” she said. “My students, when they throw that paper in recycling, they believe that it’s going to be recycled.”
David Moore, an adjunct professor in photography, is another faculty member who had suspected that the college wasn’t recycling.
Moore noted that lack of recycling is a nationwide problem.
“This country doesn’t recycle properly so it’s not funny that the school doesn’t recycle properly,” he said. “Ten percent of the plastics you put in a recycling bin maybe get recycled, and it’s just ridiculous that we don’t really recycle.”
Several housekeepers verified to The Scene that they’re throwing contents of recycling bins in with regular trash. All asked for anonymity for fear of getting in trouble for speaking out.
Housekeeping supervisor Michelle Minnick said people often question her about recycling on campus.
“Yes, we have recycling,” she said earlier this month. “Over by automotive, we have a green recycling bin and (a container) for just trash.”
Minnick declined to answer further questions.
DeCuir first became concerned about the recycling situation on campus in the spring of 2024.
“My students and I would notice various housekeeping people were dumping the paper recycling in the trash,” she said.
DeCuir sent Fickas an email about it and got verification in November that the college was no longer recycling. It’s not known when it stopped.
Today, DeCuir wonders why the blue bins weren’t removed and why students, faculty and staff have been led to believe that they’re being used for recycling.
Forest Park once took pride in its recycling efforts and even held special events for electronic recycling and paper shredding. No such events are planned this year, according to the STLCC website.