The Ball State University Bookstore is trying to improve the environment by selling recycled products and offering blue bags.
Bookstore manager Ron Sorrell said that although the store already carries some products similar to the recycled goods, it wants to give students more environmentally friendly choices.
"Every now and then, students give suggestions on what they'd like to see in the store," Sorrell said. "We're going to track sales and keep items that are selling."
The store has a corner with recycled products, including copy paper, note cards and folders, he said. The expansion of the program is all up to student demand, he said.
Some students wonder when they purchase a product whether it contains recycled materials, Sorrell said.
"From dealing with students, it is a big deal for them to recycle," he said.
Ball State students, especially those living off campus, do not have much choice in regards to recycling, Sorrell said. Therefore, he said, he is happy to offer the recycling program on campus where students have easy access to the goods.
Jessica Clement, National Wildlife Federation fellow and graduate student in landscape architecture, said she started the program last January. The NWF wanted to get campus bookstores to offer these products, and Ball State was one of the selected universities, Clement said.
The program is sponsored by the NWF, along with the Center for Energy Research, Education and Service, the Students for a Sustainable Campus and the Center for New for a American Dream.
Robert Koester, director of the Center of Energy Research, Education and Service and architecture professor, said the program has proven to be effective.
"Students have bought it by the bundles," he said.
Clement said the groups are working on setting up an event next month to create awareness about recycled goods. One activity at the event will be a recycled bottle toss, where students can win some of the recycled products as prizes.
Although the Muncie blue bags the bookstore carries are not part of Clement's program, they are another way the bookstore is promoting recycling, bookstore employee Angela Kartholl said.
Kartholl uses the blue bags in her house because it is simpler, she said.
"It cuts down on how many trash bags we buy," Kartholl said.
Students can get the blue bags for free with a coupon that can be found at the Muncie Recycling Center, Low Bills or Marsh stores in Muncie, she said.
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