This fall, Miami University students can recycle bottles and cans in 10 bins located outside academic buildings and high-traffic areas on campus.
Dave Smith, environmental education coordinator, said the project is funded by Miami Building and Grounds.
"It's good for students who live in dorms and want to recycle," Smith said. "We believe it will be effective."
Smith said there are several reservations for the new on-campus outdoor recycling bins.
"They take time and money away from the Building and Grounds budget, and there's a worry that people will throw regular garbage in the bins," he said.
For senior Brian Casady, the student environmental coordinator, the bins make sense for an environmentally-conscious campus like Miami.
"There may be concerns about people throwing trash in them, but they're a part of students' exposure to recycling," Casady said. "Recycling will become less and less of an issue."
Student Environmental Coordinator Melissa Mullins said bins are desperately needed on campus.
"Being an employee of the Office of Recycling, I see a definite lack in initiative of students to recycle, but any steps the university takes toward making it easier for the student body is a positive one," she said.
Smith said placing 10 bins was chosen because of their strategic locations in busy areas of campus.
"We anticipate they will be used, especially between Bell Tower and the academic buildings," he said.
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For Mullins, the success of the bins depends on the students.
"Ultimately, it's up to the students to make the right choice and the effort," Mullins said. "If students are going to throw trash in the new recycling bins, I think it shows ignorance and laziness, but I hope they do utilize them."
According to Smith, Miami saves over $200,000 in landfill fees and about 50 percent of its solid waste is recycled and the university makes over $20,000 a year selling the recycled materials. Off-campus students can also drop off number one and two plastics, cardboard, glass and aluminum at the 24-hour Ditmer parking lot bin, he said.
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