The Ferris State University Recyclers do more that pick up garbage; they’re help­ing save the campus.

Litter on col­lege cam­puses is not only an eye­sore, but can also reduce an institution’s enrollment.

Recyclers, with the help of Allied Waste, col­lect recy­clables from 14 recy­cle bins in Puterbaugh/Henderson and Brophy/McNerny halls every other Wednesday.

“Each recy­cle bin is 90-gallons,” said Angela Eick, Recyclers pres­i­dent. “The bins are gen­er­ally filled half way each time.”

The Recyclers imple­mented their res­i­dence hall recy­cling pro­gram dur­ing the fall semes­ter and has received a lot of support.

“We’ve got­ten a lot of help from hous­ing and the phys­i­cal plant in mak­ing the pilot recy­cling pro­gram in the halls hap­pen,” said Eick.

Several bins in the halls are des­ig­nated for paper and other recy­clables that the Recyclers per­son­ally roll out and empty to the Mecosta Recycling Center. Although the Recyclers have only 25 mem­bers, they get a lot of work done.

“We do all of the labor our­selves,” said Eick. “Last semes­ter we did one pick-up and event each month.”

Eick encour­ages more stu­dents to join the Recyclers so they can expand their res­i­dences’ hall pro­gram to more than four halls.

“Anyone is wel­come to join and this is a great way to gain vol­un­teer hours,” said Eick.

The Trick-or-Treating for Recyclables, Recycling on the Rankin Quad, recy­cling before 5-star events, and A Night at the Recycling Center are just some of the events the Recyclers did over the fall semes­ter. Eick, a mem­ber since last year, said she feels proud of the work they’ve done and hope they can con­tinue to expand.

The Recyclers also receive assis­tance from the phys­i­cal plant work­ers who pick up the recy­cling that does not get into the bins. Prior to the RSO, the phys­i­cal plant recy­cled pro­vid­ing most fac­ulty and staff areas with shred­ding boxes. Although the cam­pus tried to main­tain recy­cling on cam­pus, the Recyclers help the cam­pus get involved.

“Before hall recy­cling, stu­dents either threw the recy­clables away, kept them for home or threw them on the ground,” said Eick. “So we really wanted to make recy­cling acces­si­ble on cam­pus and off.”

The Recyclers’ cur­rent fundraiser is re-usable gro­cery bags that can be pur­chased via their web­site and office. The Recyclers also have t-shirts on their web­site that quote Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Profits from the fundrais­ers go to sup­plies and fund­ing future events.

The next hall pick­ups will be Jan. 13 and 27. The Recyclers are cur­rently look­ing for new mem­bers, espe­cially within those halls. The group’s next meet­ing will be Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. in FLITE 304.