University Star

Residential life just got a little greener.

The Department of Housing and Residential Life distributed 3,100 red, blue and yellow recycling buckets to every dorm room on campus last week in an effort to promote environmental responsibility.

University officials first implemented on-campus recycling about 10 years ago. This action is the first time recycling has been brought directly to students’ bedroom.

“We’re trying to promote recycling as much as we can in the residence halls,” said Megan Dupree, assistant director of Housing and Residential Life. “This years’ Common Experience theme is sustainability and we are trying to do our part and encourage that amongst our residents.”

The idea of stackable bins sprouted from students not utilizing the large green recycling cans on the main floor of residence halls, Dupree said.

“What we were finding is that students were having a hard time keeping track and sorting things within their room in order to take advantage of those big large bins in the common area of the halls,” Dupree said. “Hopefully this will help to sort them in their rooms and carry them easily to those common areas.”

The Department of Housing and Residential Life tested the recycling bins last semester for a month and a half at Jackson Hall.

“The key was how receptive and how the students would buy into the program,” said Richard Medina, assistant director of Housing and Residential Life. “The pilot program at Jackson was not so much to gage the volume that we collected as it was to receive input.”

Each set of bins cost $4.95, which comes directly from students’ housing fee.

“We are auxiliary, and we get our fees directly from the fees we generate for students living in our resident hall or our apartments,” Medina said. “This is funded from our students.”

Medina said most of the responses received have been positive.

“We are working closely with the Texas State University Recycling Center,” Medina said. “We hope to increase participation. We hope to increase volumes, which is actually diverting recycling materials from going to the landfill. That is our ultimate goal.”

Karl Schoening, College Inn resident, said the recycling bins are a convenience for him and his roommate.

“Recycling is important because it helps us to reduce waste and reuse resources,” said Schoening, pre-mass communication freshman. “We use (the recycling bins). It is more convenient in bins instead of us having to take care of it ourselves.”

Not all students feel the same way.

Brandon Taylor, political science freshman, does not think students should be forced to recycle.

“We were not given a choice to recycle,” Taylor said. “We are being forced to use them. I’m not saying it’s not a good idea, but they should have asked who wanted them and who didn’t.”