University Communications and Marketing

October 1, 2012

Contacts:
Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Student government leaders at Montana State University Billings have long been taking the lead in recycling efforts at the university. The problem is few of their fellow students knew it.

So recently, the Associated Students of MSU Billings invested about $4,000 to upgrade from the plain orange and blue receptacles to gather paper, aluminum cans and plastic bottles to some new multi-bin recycling stations.

The recycling stations are a part of an effort to promote sustainability at MSU Billings and make it an even more inviting place for students, faculty and staff, said Steven Kirby, sustainability coordinator for ASMSUB.

“We wanted to get our name out there so students knew what we were doing and to help make this a better place for everybody,” said Kirby, a senior from Billings majoring in communications and theater.

Four new recycling stations went out in the past week. Two of rectangular stations are at the library at the MSU Billings university campus, one is at the City College and another is at the Student Union Building. They are about four feet long and a little more than two feet tall. The hard plastic design is easy to clean and comes with slots for paper, aluminum cans and plastic bottles.

More of the stations will be replace the single collection bins as funds become available, Kirby said.

The recycling effort follows through with efforts started in 2009 to boost awareness of sustainability all across the university. Surveys have shown that more than 90 percent of MSU Billings students support recycling and are responding favorable to other sustainability efforts.  A year ago, ASMSUB worked to replace a handful of water fountains at the university with stations to handle refillable water bottles.

For more information on the student government and its efforts, go to www.msubillings.edu/asmsub/.

PHOTO ABOVE: Steven Kirby, sustainability coordinator for the Associated Students at MSU Billings, stands near a new recycling station purchased by the student government to help encourage more recycling at the university. Four of these stations went up recently at the university campus, at the City College campus at the newly remodeled Student Union Building.  Kirby said the effort was also made to let other students know the student government is making a difference.