Speaker tells garbage ‘truth’
Many have misconceptions about landfill contents, he says
By Ann Stack
Staff Reporter
Garbage is a pretty dirty busi
ness, one archaeologist says.
Dr. William Rathje of the Uni
versity of Arizona spoke Wednes
day as part of the University of ■
Nebraska-Lincoln’s Environmen
tal Studies seminars. His topic was
“Digging Up Garbage: The Archae
ology of Us.”
“Garbage is the truth,” Rathje
said.
So, in 1987, Rathje set out to
uncover that truth — literally. He
began to dig up landfills.
What he found may surprise
some people.
“There are two realities — the
one that’s in our heads about the
way we think things are going, and
the reality of what’s going on every
day. Those two realities are often
very different from each other,” he
said.
The reality, he said, is that
Styrofoam, fast-food containers and
disposable diapers make up less
than 3 percent of the space in land
-it
Garbage is the truth.
—Rathje
archaeologist
-ft -
fills. Even plastics make up only
about 16 percent, Rathje said.
Paper products, however, make
up 40 to 50 percent of landfills,
while construction demolition de
bris makes up 20 to 30 percent.
Rathje said among his main con
cerns were misconceptions and ig
norance about the composition of a
landfill.
“What worries me the most is
the misunderstanding of what’s in
a landfill — not that we won’t be
able to deal with it,” Rathje said.
“We need to use the fact that
people believe there’s a garbage
‘crisis’ as efficiently as we can. As
long as there have been humans,
there’s been the problem of too
much garbage,” he said.
Rathje said that while recycling
was a valiant effort, it was some
times in vain.
“Most people are not recycling.
It isn’t taking stuff out to the curb.
You collect and separate, but you
don’t recycle.
“Companies are not willing to
buy a recycling plant until they
know they’ll make money from it.
In the United States of America, it’s
politics and economics as usual,”
Rathje said.
Rathje said the term “recycled”
was misleading, as most products
were composed of reused materi
als. He said the percentage of recy
cled material in a product should be
at least 15 percent.
Rathje said the most practical
solution to cutting down on gar
bage was to create less from the
beginning.
Rathje is scheduled to speak
again Thursday on the “History of
the Garbage Project” and Friday on
“Landfill Archaeology and Ground
water Contamination.”
Both seminars are sponsored by
Environmental Studies and will be
in the Bessey Hall auditorium.
Wendy Wasserstein’s
The
\ Heidi
Won 1989's
Pulitzer Prize,
Tony for Best Play,
Drama Critics & Outer
Critics Circle Awards!
I^HRONICIvES
Heidi Holland and friends
zigzag through the perplexing
times of their lives!
February 17,18,19 & 22 thru 26, 1994 at 8:00 pm
Howell Theatre - First Floor Temple Bldg - 12 & R Sts
tickets: $8 General Public, $6 Students and Senior Citizens
Group Rates Available
Box Office: (402) 472-2073
hours: Noon to 5pm and three hours before curtain
A
University
Theatre
Lincoln
production
IN YOUR FACE 2*18*94
Bike opposition withdrawn
By Heather Lampe
Staff Reporter
ASUN senators decided Wednes
day to withdraw a resolution that op
posed a proposed bicycle dismount
zone within the core of campus.
Ryan Hughes, student representa
tive to the Parking Advisory Commit
tee, fielded questions about the pro
posal during openfonim and asked for
opinions and ideas.
Deb Silhacek, senator for the Col
lege of Arts and Sciences, said the
students she had talked to said the
bicycle issue was just a matter of cour
tesy.
“They think it should be a courtesy
type of thing, an understanding. Watch
out for the other guy, and things would
be fine,” she said.
J.B. Howell, RESUME presiden
tial candidate for ASUN, said in open
forum that ASUN needed to take a
strong stand against the proposed dis
mount zone because, for the most part,
bicyclists tended to be courteous.
Howell also suggested that lines be
painted on the larger campus side
walks for bicycle paths.
In other action, ASUN passed a bill
suggesting the evaluation of teaching
practices for first-year graduate assis
tants.
The bill calls for studying current
practices of evaluating first-year grad
uate students, conducting evaluations
by students, and requiring formal train
ing for first-year graduate students
and faculty who have received little
formal training in the past.
Silhacek said she wrote the bill
because during her years in college
she had been focusing on the teaching
quality at the university.
“There needs to be some sort of
class to prepare a first-year graduate
student to teach. This prepares a per
son to enter a classroom,” Silhacek
said.
Jolly
Continued from Page 1
think about minority issues, Jolly said.
“I can’t be the only person that
holds responsibility,” he said. “Ifsome
one else will take it, too, we’re moving
forward as a university.”
The Affirmative Action and Diver
sity Office has two responsibilities,
Jolly said. The office must first make
sure that Affirmative Action laws are
followed — that qualified people are
given the opportunity to compete for
positions. The Multicultural Affairs
Office did this, Jolly said.
He said the percentage of Hispanic
applicants for a recent opening in the
office was higher than the national
and regional average. Of the five ap
plicants who were interviewed, one
was a Mexican American.
The Affirmative Action and Diver
sity Office’s second responsibility is
to make sure Equal Opportunity laws
are followed, Jolly said.
These laws require that no appli
cant be discriminated on the basis of
sex, age, disability, race, color, reli
gion, marital status, veteran’s status,
national or ethnic origin or sexual
orientation.
Fair hiring, Jolly said, is only the
beginning to creating a better envi
ronment at the university. But focus
ing only on hiring detracted from
more important issues, he said.
NU Press moves to campus hub
From Staff Reports
The University of Nebraska Press
has a new home.
After five years in the planning, the
University News Service reported the
press finally relocated its operations
to the former Union Insurance Build
ing, 14th and Q streets.
The press had been located in Ne
braska Hall.
Despite the hassles of moving,press
Director Willis Regier said he and his
staff couldn’t be happier with their
new home.
“The location is much better. After
being on the fringes of campus for so
many years, we finally feel like we’re
a part of the university,” he said.
“We’re delighted to be just a block
away from the State Historical Soci
ety, a block away lrom the library anu
a block away from the largest book
store in Lincoln.”
University Press employs more than
50 regular personnel and more than
50 students—far too many people for
the press’s old site, Regier said.
“We were so cramped, we literally
had people working in closets,” he
said. “The new location is so much
more spacious.”
Renovations at the new press head
quarters will be complete as soon as a
women’s rest room is finished, Regier
said. And, although parking has be
come a challenge for some, Regier has
heard few other complaints.
The University of Nebraska Com
puting Network will move into the
area vacated by the press.
Employees may get tax break
From Staff Reports
Employees who receive tuition help
from their employers may not have to
pay taxes on it, according to the Inter
nal Revenue Service.
Employees may exclude up to
$5,250 worth of qualifying employer
provided educational assistance they
received.
This program is retroactive to July
1, 1992 and extends, currently, until
Dec. 31, 1994.
An amended return, Form 1040X,
for 1992 can be filed by employees
who were required to include in in
come the value of educational assis
tance provided by the employer begin
ning July 1,1992.
An educational assistance program
is a written plan an employer estab
lishes for employees. The employer
may provide courses directly, pay for
courses directly or reimburse employ
ees for their educational expenses.
Graduate-level courses also may qual
ify for the exclusion.
Employers and employees do not
pay employment taxes on qualifying
amounts and the value of the Qualify
ing assistance is not included in the
employee’s W-2 form. Employers
may claim the value of the educational
assistance they provide under a qual
ified plan as an ordinary and neces
sary business expense.
IRS Publication 535, Business Ex
penses, gives more information on
educational assistance programs for
employers. Employees can refer to
Publications 508, Educational Expens
es, and 525, Taxable and Nontaxable
Income.
All are available at no cost by call
ing the IRS at 1-800-829-3676.
11-Police Report
Baginning midnight Monday
10:54 a.m.—Two-vehicle accident, Area
20 lot at 14th and W streets, $450 dam
age
12:38 p.m.—Vandalism to vehicle, west
Memonal Stadium meters, $75 damage
1:37 p.m.—Wallet stolen, Selleck Quad
rangle, $22 loss
1:46 p.m. — Accident, Stadium Drive,
$1,000 damage
1:58 p.m. — Supplies stolen, Architec
ture Hall, $584 loss
8:41 p.m. — Purse stolen, Nebraska
Union, $140 loss.
10:16 p.m.— Phone calls, Selleck Quad
r angle.
Baginning midnight Tuesday
7:49 a.m.—Radar detector stolen, Area
6 lot near Burr Residence Hall, $60 loss
12:46 p.m. — Wallet stolen, University
Health Center, $90 loss
4 32 p.m.—Hit-and-run accident, S Street
between 15th and 16th streets, $200dam
age
6:50 p.m. — Burglary, Abel Residence
Hall, $100 cash stolen.
6:52 p.m. — Phone calls, Smith Resi
dence Hall
