Ames offers several recycling options for students and residents who want to help the environment.

Iowa State is working to make recycling easily accessible to everyone on campus. There are several ways off-campus students can get involved with recycling as well.

In 1993 a group of volunteer students and faculty established Iowa State’s first recycling committee.

According to their vision statement, “Our passionate concern for the environment inspires us to have sustainable reduce, reuse, recycle programs, which will generate an environmentally conscious Iowa State University community.”

Karen Kellogg is the facilities manager and residence halls faculty representative on the recycling committee. She explained that each residence hall floor can choose how actively it recycles.

“[Students] like having the recycling option available,” she said. “If you provide the recycling close by, people tend to take advantage of it.”

The recycling committee has tried creative programs such as campus-wide phone book recycling said Norm Hill, manager of Central Stores and recycling committee member.

Hill said they are implementing a new program for ink jet cartridge recycling that should start in a few weeks.

“Students can get mail-back envelopes when they buy ink jet cartridges,” Hill said. “When the cartridges are empty, they can send them back to be used again.”

Recycling committee members emphasized that they are trying to spread the word to make students aware of all the services readily available to them.

The recycling company, Bikes at Work, is responsible for pick-up of on-campus materials.

Co-owner Jim Gregory said they collect newsprint, colored paper, magazines, plastic, glass, cardboard and aluminum cans from residence halls and campus buildings.

Recycling bins are also available to the residents of University Village and Schilletter Village.

Chris Fowler, interim manager of community services, said each housing area has a container which residents can put newspaper, glass, milk jugs and aluminum cans into for recycling.

One bin is located on the east side of Schilletter Village; the other is near the Laundromat.

“[The recycling program] was started by concerned residents,” Fowler said.

The University Family Council bought the containers, and the Department of Residence maintains them, she said.

Fowler said she thinks many of the residents recycle because the bins are filled at least once a month.

Off-campus residents also have choices when it comes to recycling.

Dave Morrow, district manager for waste management, said the Ames Area Recycling Center offers curbside recycling along with regular garbage pick-up. Recycling materials are collected twice a month for $2.50 a month.

Second Generation Recycling owner Stig Palmer said his business provides off-campus residents with an 18-gallon tub for recycling. The cost is $4 for each pick-up.

Both companies said they accept mixed paper, plastics, aluminum cans, tin, glass and various other items. However, they said they see little student participation in recycling off-campus.

“I think the cost turns students off,” said Palmer.

“Students from out of town have more of a tendency toward recycling,” Morrow said. “Ames natives feel less guilty about not recycling since their garbage gets burned in the recovery plant.”

Gloria Erickson, program assistant in facilities planning and management and recycling committee member, urges students to get involved to help push new and existing recycling programs.

“Overall, the interest is there,” Erickson said. “Student involvement is important to help push the programs and create more of a need.”