By Deaven Zimmerman

Staff Writer

Lewis and Clark Community College is due to get new recycling bins in the next three weeks, placing their arrival within the first week of March. The design for the new multi-use recycling bins was chosen by faculty, staff, and students through a survey given on Campus Sustainability Day, Oct 20, 2010. The executive administration then reviewed the decision and approved purchasing the bins, each one costing $675.

LCCC has been wanting to get new recycling receptacles for over a year and student green fees made purchasing 34 of the necessary 56 bins from Ex-Cell, a manufacturer and distributor of commercial facility products, possible. Four of the new receptacles will have food waste bins attached to them and all of the recyclables will be picked up by Godfrey Recycling. The new bins will be placed around LCCC’s Godfrey campus according to a list made up by the college’s maintenance and custodial staff which pinpoints the most highly trafficked areas on campus. When the college can afford it they plan on purchasing the rest of the necessary recycling bins. “We’ll have one multi-use compartment on every floor eventually,” said Marcia Lochmann, LCCC’s Director of Sustainability.

The need for the new recycling bins came from problems that arose with the ones that we currently have. “The old bins aren’t effective in keeping material separated; lids were inadvertently switched in many cases and were used for trash sometimes. The new bins will make it easier for users to separate the material. Lewis and Clark has been recycling actively again since last February but because we have old bins that aren’t affective people aren’t recycling as much as they could be. The new bins will be clearly labeled and easier on both the user and the custodial staff who will collect the material,” said Lochmann.