With the every-growing emphasis on environmental awareness, Saint Mary's is working to improve the recycling on campus by placing blue bins in every student's dorm room.
Saint Mary's administrators hope the move will encourage more students to recycle.
"In the past, the students were somewhat lax in putting the recycling where it should be. We often found trash in the recycling bins," director of Building Services Marilyn Rajski said.
The new recycling bins are part of Saint Mary's effort to increase environmental awareness and to make recycling easier for students. In years past, paper was the only material that was recycled on campus. Now, aluminum, glass and paper are being including in a single stream system, according to compliance officer Dan Woods.
Woods hopes that the new initiative will encourage Saint Mary's students to recycle properly.
"One problem that the recyclers were telling us was that trash items, including pizza boxes and Styrofoam were making their way into the recycling containers. We need to do a better job of putting trash items into the trash and not in the recycling," Woods said in a campus-wide e-mail.
Holy Cross Hall, one of the four residence halls on campus, issued the bins through their Resident Advisors (RA).
"Putting them in the rooms helps students to know that recycling is available on campus," Holy Cross RA Mary Beth Gizinski said.
Terrie Paul, the new Holy Cross hall director, is combining the hall's core value of Justice with the new pull for recycling on campus.
"The initiative in and of itself is wonderful and I am glad that Saint Mary's is recognizing the importance of sustainability, and treating the environment well," Paul said.
Rajski said the bins were just the first step this year in Saint Mary's push to raise environmental awareness.
"We're just excited that we've come this far. We are also asking the faculty to become actively involved. We are very proud of our endeavors and we are hoping to have a successful year," Rajski said.
