Students can fight increasing room and board fees by recycling on campus.

The residence hall recycling program is helping to reduce the amount of garbage the campus produces.

Jim Zentmeyer, associate director of Facilities and Administrative Operations, said campus garbage goes to a landfill. Because the garbage removed is measured by pounds, he said reducing how much garbage goes into the landfill can lower students’ fees.

Groundskeeping supervisor Steve Renner said if students didn’t recycle, their room and board fees would go up.

“You would more than double the trash bill, not to mention fill the landfills up,” he said. “We’re filling the landfills up too fast already.”

Renner said Kent State sees the recycling program as a service provided to the students. He said the actual cost of recycling is minimal. The only specific cost of recycling is the fee the university pays to get the recycled items removed.

“We pay a rental fee a month on those … anywhere from $10-15 a month,” Renner said.

He said the fee includes removal of the waste twice a week, transporting it to the Portage County Solid Waste District and sorting the recycled items.

Residence Services has tried to simplify the process of recycling for students. Zentmeyer said every residence hall room has a blue bin to put recycleable waste into.

Lindsey Householder, freshman exploratory major, said the only reason she recycles is because the bin is in her room.

Zentmeyer said colored fliers are now posted all over the campus to help students know what they can or can’t recycle.

“The recycling program is not just the right thing to do at Kent State, but it’s also an educational opportunity so that students begin to learn how they can participate,” Zentmeyer said.

Freshman exploratory major Sara Davidson said the students can make at least a minor difference on the global environment.

“It’s a good habit to get into,” she said.

Contact room and board reporter Noelle Pennyman at [email protected].

The Dos and Don’ts of Recycling Groundskeeping supervisor Steve Renner, said students don’t have to wash out recycled items or separate them. You Can Recycle • aluminum and tin cans • glass bottles and jars • cardboard boxes – Please flatten and place boxes in the proper bins. Office/Paper Mix • catalogs • manuals • colored paper • newsprint • copy paper • Post-It Notes • junk mail • softcover books • magazines • phonebooks Plastic Containers • milk • juice • soda • laundry detergent • shampoo • liquid hand soap You Can’t Recycle • pizza boxes • wax-coated cardboard (juice cartons, frozen food boxes) • food waste • plastic bags • plastic or Styrofoam dinnerware • aerosol cans