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Students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville made an environmentally friendly trade off on Wednesday, March 2 in the school’s first annual Recycle Bowl.

“For every plastic bottle, aluminum can or paper cup that a student brought in, we gave them an SIUE reusable bottle in return,” said Sydney Jackson, a junior in Interpersonal Communication Speech, taught by Diane Hayes, applied communication studies established instructor. “In our class, we were assigned to do a recycling project, and we chose this idea.”

The group of students, known as The Greeny Bunch, worked in conjunction with the SIUE Student Organization of Sustainability (SOS) and the SIUE Sustainability Office on the project. Within the hour, the group of students in Hayes’ class had given out the 50 reusable bottles they had on hand.

“This has been a fun way to interact with students and spread more recycling awareness around campus,” said Kealy Nolfo, a freshman and member of The Greeny Bunch.

The Recycle Bowl also had a PowerPoint presentation available for students to learn more about recycling. “The biggest challenge is that a lot of people don’t know what to recycle,” said Rebekah Bartholomew, a junior and SOS member.

“It’s also important to get the word out better to freshmen,” said Jackson, project leader. “We also hope to have this event every year and to build upon each year.”

“Recycling is important,” Nolfo said. “This is our environment we’re living in, and we need to learn how to properly appreciate it.”

 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of more than 14,000.

Photo:

Jayla Cole, a freshman social work major, turns in an empty water bottle for an SIUE reusable one. Students shown from L-R: Bilal Aziz, sophomore electrical engineering major; Anthony Kindle, freshman mechanical engineering major; Allen Adams, freshman electrical engineering major; Kealy Nolfo, freshman education major; Sydney Jackson, junior criminal justice major and Rebekah Bartholomew, first year pharmacy student.