Student Senate and President Jack R. Ohle have made recycling a priority, pledging to buy the necessary bins to complete the initiative as soon as funding is agreed upon.

Senate contributed $6,000 toward the bins, which they hope to have on campus by summer. They are now waiting on Ohle to match the contribution with $6,000 from the operating budget to reach the $12,000 it takes to purchase the bins.

“The recycling committee was going to have to go through a long process to secure funding that may not have gotten us recycling until next fall, but Student Senate and President Ohle thought it was a priority that needed immediate action,” Eric Benson, student body president, said.

“Senate and the administration have worked together very nicely on a number of projects,” Ohle said, noting the recent addition of handicapped accessible doors across campus. “They’ve been very interested in recycling for a long time, and the college is very much concerned about recycling.”

Bins offer convenience
Six stations around campus will include four bins each for cans, glass, paper and plastic. The recycling committee looked at several companies’ bins to find the best product for the best price. The bins they chose are made of recycled milk jugs, making them more durable than the strongest wood, Benson said.

“These are more expensive than the last bins we had, but they will be used for many years,” he said.

The bins will be cemented into the ground right next to dumpsters, making it just as easy to recycle as to take out the trash, Benson said.

“The tough thing is that the students need to take that seriously,” Ohle said. “In a rush, a student will throw a glass bottle into a plastic bottle container. It takes an effort to do recycling, but what a value to our environment.”