9 Universities Hosting America Recycles Day Events on Nov. 15
Student-led efforts part of Keep Louisiana Beautiful partnership
BATON ROUGE – Student leaders at the nine universities in the University of Louisiana System are hosting recycling awareness events on their campuses this Thursday, Nov. 15 for America Recycles Day. From collecting recycling to trading disposable water bottles for reusable drinking containers, organizers hope to instill green habits in most of the UL System’s 92,000 students.
Thursday’s activities are part of a year-long partnership between the UL System and Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) to engage students, faculty, staff, and community members in efforts to promote waste reduction, litter abatement and recycling. The system’s nine universities are utilizing a $30,000 grant from KLB for the on-campus events this week and a larger campus/community project in spring 2013.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to be partnering with the nine universities through the UL System,” said KLB Executive Director Leah Harris. “We have seen how passionate college students are about philanthropy and the future. We are happy to provide an opportunity to engage with them toward making a real difference in our state.”
While each university has a designated coordinator for the KLB grant activities, Thursday’s recycling events are being led by each student government association president as part of the UL System’s annual Student Advisory Council (SAC) service project. Last year’s SAC service project raised $12,532 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Below is a compilation of America Recycles Day activities for each university:
Grambling State University is distributing recycling bins all over the campus and working with the City of Grambling to arrange regular recycling pickup. Recycling awareness activities and a celebration are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in front of the Favrot Student Union on campus.
Contacts: Dr. Rory Bedford, 318-274-2547, or SGA President Jonathan Allen, 318-274-2540
Louisiana Tech University has been collecting recycling for the past couple weeks, beginning during homecoming with 350 participants contributing 300 hours of service. On Nov. 15 they will host a celebration event in the Student Center dining area.
Contacts: Kim Barlow, 318-257-4262, or SGA President Will Dearmon, 318-257-4565
McNeese State University students will be able to trade in bottles and cans for reusable drinking containers and plastic bags for reusable grocery bags at the quad on campus. In addition to the green trading, there will be a recycling awareness display contest and four recycling bins distributed in key areas on campus.
Contacts: Kedrick Nicholas, 337-475-5610, or SGA President Davante Lewis, 337-475-5605
Nicholls State University will collect regular and specialized recycling materials from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the quad on campus. Students can trade in bottles for reusable drinking containers; drop off regular recycling materials, as well as batteries and old tennis shoes. The tennis shoes will be turned into sports surfaces like outdoor courts or playgrounds as part of Nike’s ReUSE A SHOE program.
Contacts: Andrew Simoncelli, 985-448-4131, or SGA President Matthew Jewell, 985-448-4559
Northwestern State University will have a booth in the pedestrian brickway in front of Kyser Hall on campus from 9 a.m. to noon where students can exchange bottles for reusable drinking containers and sign pledges to recycle. The campus is encouraged to wear green to promote America Recycles Day.
Contacts: Steve Gruesbeck, 318-357-5911, or SGA President Derrick Houston, 318-357-4501
Southeastern Louisiana University student leaders have partnered with the campus physical plant to distribute 25 recycling bins across campus and arrange for regular pickup of collected materials. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 15 at the Student Union Mall on campus students can exchange bottles for reusable drinking containers, learn more about recycling and other green resources on campus.
Contacts: Beth Richardson Newell, 985-549-2120, or SGA President Branden Summers, 985-549-2296
University of Louisiana at Lafayette students are encouraged to wear green on Nov. 15 and stop by the library on campus to trade-in plastic bags for reusable grocery bags and water bottles for reusable drinking containers. The university is placing a recycling bin in every academic building on campus and is working with The ARC of Acadiana to arrange weekly pickup by Waste Management.
Contacts: Dr. David Yarbrough, 337-482-1015, or SGA President Ashley Mudd, 337-482-6803
University of Louisiana at Monroe students can upgrade their bottles and cans for reusable drinking containers and gather recycling information from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the quad on campus.
Contacts: Dr. Sandy Hill, 318-342-1487, or SGA President Calvin Stafford, 318-342-3486
University of New Orleans students will be able to pick up reusable drinking bottles and information on recycling starting at 11 a.m. in the quad on campus. UNO will also have more visible signage on existing campus recycling bins and additional drop-off locations thanks to the efforts of its Student Government and Keep Louisiana Beautiful.
Contacts: Dr. Michael Mizell-Nelson, 504-280-6611, or SG President Laura Siu, 504-280-6221
For more information about America Recycles Day visit http://americarecyclesday.org/ or www.keeplouisianabeautiful.org.
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The largest higher education system in Louisiana, the UL System enrolls over 92,000 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the University of New Orleans.
