The University of New Orleans has been awarded a $5,000 grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful to help the university expand its on-campus recycling program. Keep Louisiana Beautiful is a nonprofit focused on community improvement through litter prevention, environmental education and beautification.
The University Affiliate Grant will be used to purchase new recycling bins with wheels and lids, which will make it easier to transport collected recycling from the bin locations across campus to the recycling dumpsters.
Last spring, the University of New Orleans launched the UNO Recycling Ambassador program in which volunteers began upcycling old trash cans and recycling containers, painting them with environmental art to help them stand out from landfill trashcans.
UNO would like to ensure that items which can be recycled are sent to the proper facilities instead of to a landfill. The primary anticipated outcome of this project is to educate students and employees on what can be recycled in the City of New Orleans and therefore on UNO’s campus. By educating the community, UNO hopes to increase recycling on campus by providing the means to change behavior.