As of March 1, 2025, residential properties in Warrensburg are now being serviced by Constable Sanitation, Inc., a solid waste disposal company. While the city has gained the ability to recycle through this new service, the University of Central Missouri’s waste disposal system is entirely separate from the city’s and has been recycling for the past three or four years, according to the estimate of Justin O’Neal, Associate Vice President of Capital Planning and Facilities Management at UCM.
“We have a couple of recycling programs here on campus, one of which is roll off dumpsters that accept basically every recycling that you can imagine, which would be plastics, glass, cardboard, paper,” said Scott Faubion, Manager of Custodial Services and Set-ups for Facilities Planning and Operations at UCM.
According to Faubion, UCM has three of these recycling dumpsters, which are located by the Ellis, Fitzgerald and Wood buildings. The smaller recycling bins located around campus are fed into the larger dumpsters by the grounds department.
Although the campus has functional recycling infrastructure, some students believe that the UCM student body feels uncertain about whether they can recycle on campus.
“I don’t think students know we do have recycling, or what to recycle, or how to recycle… I feel like they’ll just throw whatever in it [the recycling bin]” said Graduate Assistant for Outdoor Education Anna Bergstrom.
Abby Terry, a sophomore who works at the front desk for the Housing department, explains that she was uncertain about whether the campus recycles due to signs she saw last year hanging near the recycling bins in her dorm, Houts-Hosey.
“It [the sign] just says, we don’t do recycling anymore. Don’t put recycling in them. They don’t get emptied,” said Terry.
While some students are uncertain about recycling on campus, many students, staff, faculty and Warrensburg residents are excited by the new opportunity to recycle through the city.
“I think it is important to be good stewards of the world and recycling is something that we can do to meet that goal. And it’s not a hard practice to get into,” Jeff Rehm, Assistant Director of Outdoor Education, said.
More information about the city’s new waste disposal and recycling program can be found on the City of Warrensburg website and FAQ page.
