Staying Green has been difficult for Ashland University students for the past couple of years due to the college no longer recycling.

Although this has been an ongoing issue since 2019, there seems to have been no progress made to help resolve the situation.

According to Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Matt Portner, Ashland County did stop recycling plastic for a short period of time, but has since been reinstated. Ashland University has yet to bring back the recycling bins for plastic since the reinstatement.

Ashland County Solid Waste District Coordinator, James Skora could not be contacted at this time for a statement about this matter.

The recycling program at Ashland University first started in 1991 due to the large quantities of tin, glass, plastic, cardboard, aluminum and paper that was continuously being thrown away into landfills.

“We have had in the past a pretty extensive recycling program that we were very proud of,” Rick Ewing, vice president of operations and planning, said. “We are looking to reduce, we are looking to reuse, we are looking wherever we can to be sustainable in our practices.”

Due to financial issues and limitations, it has been difficult for the college to begin collecting plastic again.

“Currently only cardboard, kitchen grease, and paper is being collected,” Portner said. “For over 30 years we recycled on this campus. We want to be part of the solution and avoid just being part of the solid waste problem here in Ashland.”

As an alternative, students can visit http://www.ashlandcountyoh.us to view the reference sheet of recycling drop-off locations within the city.

For a more detailed explanation of the discontinuation of plastic recycling on campus, visit ashland-collegian.com to read spring 2022’s update.