Formed in the fall of 2004, the Recycling Task Force, or RTF, is a group of 4-5 students who are enthusiastic recyclers! We are in charge of improving Hamilton's recycling program under the wing of Physical Plant. We manage all recycling stations on campus, the distribution of blue bins in the dorm rooms, and special projects. Terry Hawkridge, the Assistant Director of Grounds, Horticulture and Arboretum and head of recycling at Hamilton College, manages the task force, but it remains a student-led initiative. The Task Force acts a liaison between the student body and administration and works to improve recycling at Hamilton.
Roxanne Makoff '12
Coordinator (Fall 2009-Fall 2010; Fall 2011-Spring 2012)
Roxanne is a Junior from San Francisco, California and is a Public Policy major. Besides her studies and participation in the Recycling Task Force, Roxanne is a distance runner on the Women's Cross-Country and Track and Field teams. Along with protecting the environment, Roxanne's greatest passion is international human rights. Roxanne hopes that through the RTF she can educate the Hamilton campus on the importance and necessity of recycling. She will be spending the spring semester of 2011 in Washington D.C. interning at a human rights organization. Her greatest goal for the Recycling Task force is that by her graduation in 2012, Hamilton will have a fully functioning and sustainable compost system.
Nat Duncan '12
Member (Fall 2009-Present)
Nat is a junior from Old Lyme, Connecticut. He majors in government and is a history minor. Nat also sits on the Hamilton College Sustainability Committee and is a former co-president of Hamilton Environmental Action Group. He has been an RA at Hamilton and has led an Adirondack Adventure pre-orientation trip. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor sports and skiing. Nat is attending Hamilton's Washington D.C. program in Spring 2011 and is interning at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Kate Harloe '12
Member (Fall 2009-Present)
Kate is a sophomore at Hamilton and a prospective Comparative Literature major from Canton, New York. She is a member of the Social Justice Initiative, the Figure Skating Club, and the Music Library Staff. Kate joined the RTF in the hopes of increasing environmental consciousness and education throughout the community. She will work to provide more integration between different student organizations on campus, especially ones with overlapping interests.
Jennifer Santoro '11
Member (Fall 2008-Present)
Jen is a senior Environmental Studies major and English minor from New Jersey. In addition to the RTF, she is a dorm sustainability coordinator and a committee leader of HEAG. She is also a geology lab TA and participates in the ballroom dancing club. Her biggest goal for the RTF is to see composting implemented at Hamilton before she graduates, but she also hopes to improve recycling awareness. Jen is passionate about conservation and sustainability, and is spending her senior year writing her thesis about a conservation plan for endangered butterflies in the Rome Sand Plains. In her free time, she enjoys kayaking and waterskiing.
Jennifer Kleindienst '09
Coordinator (Fall 2006-Spring 2009)
Jen is a Public Policy major and Environmental Studies minor from Niskayuna, New York. Jen is spending the summer working at York Hospital in York, Maine as a Clean Air-Cool Planet Fellow. She served as the RTF coordinator from 2006 to 2009, though her interests in sustainability and recycling stretch further back. Jen worked her hardest to get composting started on campus, and has not given up on the fight though she has graduated. Jen went on a RTF-sponsored research trip to several northeastern colleges to learn more about composting and recycling best practices in Summer 2007. In her spare time, Jen enjoys playing board games, going for walks, and spending time with friends.
Gillian Smith '09
Member (Fall 2006-Spring 2009)
Gillian is a Chemical Physics major and Philosophy minor from Silver Spring, Maryland. At Hamilton, Gillian was a member of the Woollcott Cooperative, the Cross-Country team and the Wellin Hall Staff. Gillian really enjoyed working on Cram & Scram expansion for the spring semester and the introduction of Mini Cram and Scram for the Fall Semester.
