Soda cans fill the side baskets and bags attached to his bike, causing it to lean with all the extra weight as he coasts back to his apartment after a mile long effort around campus.
Although the recycling efforts around the city of Commerce are minimal, undergraduate Daniel Hartman has taken on the task. Currently focusing on aluminum, Hartman has put many hours into collecting cans in order to recycle them, improve the Commerce community, and preserve energy.
“You save over 90% of the energy to make a can by simply recycling it. So it’s a win-win situation. You’re cutting down on energy costs and cleaning the air by collecting those cans,” Hartman said.
Texas A&M University-Commerce’s honor society Phi Theta Kappa, of which Hartman is a member, attempted to start a recycling program that collected cans on campus and around Commerce before transporting them to a recycling facility out of town in the 2005-2006 school year. But due to the property being sold that they had been storing all collected cans on, the organization was forced to abandon the project.
In order to continue the recycling efforts in Commerce, Hartman collects the cans that are scattered around trash bins and that litter the campus grounds before taking them to an aluminum crusher facility in Quinlan and collecting $.60 a pound.
It is not at all about money though for Hartman.
“It’s a feed good thing because you’re cleaning the environment and you’re actually doing something for the community,” Hartman said.
An avid believer in the saying that ‘one person can make a difference’, Hartman has continued his recycling habits at home, where he separates his garbage into recyclables before letting trash collectors pick up anything.
“It gives an individual a voice in what’s happening in our world versus complaining about [how] the government should do. Who is the government? The government is we the people; so unless the people get busy and involved, the government never does anything,” Hartman said.
While Hartman has encouraged citizens in any community to get involved in recycling or look into what recycling programs their cities offer, he has also advised on how to collect recyclables from less sanitary areas such as dumpsters and parks.
“It is nasty dirty to handle; you should really wear gloves and be sure to wash your hands well after because it is a breeding ground for germs,” Hartman said.
According to Hartman, the landfill in Commerce is estimated to last approximately 35 years, which does not take into account urban sprawl and increasing population. However, he does believe that if more people recycled in Commerce, politicians took an interest in the issue and the state put a deposit on all recyclables, the landfill could meet its predicted lifespan.
“Really you need an initiative or motivation of some kind. Sometimes just the fact of ‘your neighborhood will look cleaner’ doesn’t seem to do it. You have to either force people or bait them into [recycling]. The biggest thing is to not waste things,” Hartman said, “You’ll see a lot of people with junk in their yard because it’s not worth their while.”
Coming from upstate New York near Rochester, Hartman has been involved in numerous service projects throughout his lifetime, both within and outside of the recycling issue. He is also currently working on a long term service project in order to help at risk children at the Hephzibah Children’s Home in Georgia. Hartman is collecting soup labels and participating in the Campbell’s Labels for Education program. Through the years, these labels have made it possible for children’s homes across America to purchase a number of vans, educational materials and sports equipment.
Any students and faculty interested in contributing labels should clip the UPCs from Campbell’s soup cans and collect the lids of select Campbell’s products before dropping them off at 125 Liberman Hall. For specifics on which Campbell’s products can be used for this program, students and faculty should consult fliers posted near the entrance of the Gee library or contact Daniel Hartman at 903-468-4482.