Landlords required to provide recycling containers in convenient location, official says
City and university officials addressed off-campus recycling, campus sustainability, traffic safety and neighborhood improvements during Thursday night’s Marquette Student Government meeting.
Recycling
Milwaukee recycling commissioner Rick Meyers spoke to students about recycling policies for off-campus apartments.
He said students living in apartment buildings with more than four units should be provided with recycling services by their landlords. At a minimum, he said, landlords must supply an appropriate number of separate recycling containers in a convenient location.
Meyers encouraged students to contact the Department of Public Works if these standards are not being followed. The department can then take action against the landlords in question, he said.
Meyers added that students in apartments with four units or less are provided with curbside recycling service by the city.
Carly Nusser, a junior in the College of Communication, asked Meyers if the city had plans to convert to single-stream recycling, as Marquette recently did.
Meyers replied that there has not been any impetus to go single-stream so far. However, he said the city will likely switch when DPW moves from its current recycling facility.
“We’re likely to be going to single-stream, just not next year,” Meyers said.
Sustainability
Andrew Seifert, projects assistant for the Office of Administration, said the university is determining whether it should pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification or simply make buildings more efficient.
Giuseppe Pappalardo, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said students are more likely to be aware of the sustainability of the buildings if they are LEED-certified.
Traffic
Fourth District Alderman Bob Bauman informed the Senate about legislative issues, because he said keeping MUSG involved with local government is important because of Marquette’s prominence in the community.
Bauman said traffic safety is a key issue the city is addressing. He suggested the creation of a committee to meet with traffic engineers and other city officials that would walk the campus looking for trouble spots.
Neighborhood
Rana Altenburg, vice president for public affairs, spoke about the Near West Side Leadership Initiative, an effort by community and business leaders to improve Milwaukee’s west side.
Altenburg said the university has been working to improve the surrounding campus since implementing its Campus Circle program in the 1990s, which invested $50 million in redevelopment efforts. She said Marquette is now one of many community institutions, including Harley-Davidson, Potawatomi Casino and Miller-Coors, involved in improving the area.
She identified safety and economic development as two key priorities in the area’s development. She said the west side should be a place where people want to live, not where they happen to live.
Altenburg told MUSG to keep pushing for improvements in the off-campus areas where students live.
“Don’t start something that’s going to get dropped when you leave,” Altenburg said.
In other news from the meeting:
- Financial Vice President Jon Giel reported that MUSG had collected an unanticipated surplus of Student Activity Fee revenue. The MUSG Budget Committee will present a proposal for the funds by next meeting.
- President Henry Thomas announced a food drive beginning this week until the end of semester. He said bins can be found in the MUSG office and Raynor Library.
- Pappalardo announced the MUSG Student Life Committee will look at safety concerns on 16th and 17th streets. One possible recommendation is to turn both into two-way streets.
