Minot State University is starting a new recycling program on campus this semester.
The university's environmental sustainability committee received a $20,000 grant from the Xcel Energy Foundation to start the new program.
Linda Olson, who chairs the humanities department and is principal investigator for the grant proposal, told fellow professors and staff Wednesday that recycling receptacles will be located in every building on campus and people can ask for recycling bins to put in their offices. The bins are divided, so that one part is for trash and the other is for recyclable materials. A trailer will be moved to campus later this semester that will collect all of the recyclables. Olson said a large amount of paper is wasted every year at Minot State University. The majority of the waste disposed of at the Minot Muncipal Landfill is paper that could have been recycled, she said.
Olson told the professors that the project won't work unless everyone gets on board. She encouraged them to reduce their use of paper by reading things on the computer, printing on both sides of a page, or sharing copies with a colleague, among other things.
The $20,000 grant will also be used to provide research and internship opportunities for students and to educate people on campus about recycling, according to a press release. Kathy Aas, community relations manager for Xcel Energy, presented MSU President David Fuller with the check on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, Fuller welcomed professors back to campus for the fall semester and encouraged them to promote the university's mission to become "the premier university on the Great Plains."
Classes start next week at MSU.
