Off-campus recycling programs sought by Student Government Association

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Ashley Hehl’s house on University Street is piled high with old bottles, egg cartoons and plastic bags.

But the Coopersville senior isn’t too lazy to clean up — she is trying to save the environment.

Hehl is just one of many Central Michigan University students who moved off campus to find there is no recycling option available to them.

The Student Government Association is trying to change this inconvenience by making recycling accessible for all CMU students — on campus or off.

“It would make it a lot easier, we would definitely recycle more,” Hehl said. “We don’t just throw (recyclables) in the trash to go to the curb, but it is a lot harder because we need to take it to a recycling bin ourselves.”

Chair of Student Services Zac Kaczanowski is heading up the project for the SGA. He said the ultimate goal is to place a recycling bin next to every garbage bin.

Kaczanowski, a Rochester Hills senior, is collecting 6,000 signatures from CMU students to show there is a demand for more bins around town. So far, 1,000 signatures have been obtained.

“There is a need for students who do want to do recycling off campus,” Kaczanowski said. “I’ve never had someone tell me they don’t believe in this position. It’s been an ongoing thing, the gears have just started to grind.”

Kaczanowski said the real problem lies in is who is going to cover the costs of the endeavor. Though Kaczanowski has not gotten any estimates, he believes the project will be relatively cheap.

Another challenge Kaczanowski said they will face is city regulations that limit the number of dumpsters you can have in some off-campus complexes.

“City council will have to make new guidelines,” he said. “It has to be a collaborative thing.”

Kaczanowski said he has spoken to one landlord and attended one city commission meeting about the issue.

While Kaczanowski is hopeful the goal will be reached before his graduation in May, SGA President Brittany Mouzourakis said she believes this project will stretch well beyond her time in office.

Still, the Garden City senior said it is important that they fight to get off-campus students convenient access to recycling.

“There is a lot of red tape that goes into a thing like this,” Mouzourakis said. “Right now, we’re in an information gathering state and trying to gain interest. It’s really sad that students who live off campus have no opportunity to recycle and I know they would if they had the opportunity.”