By Monique Glenn

There was a positive reaction to the new recycling programs at Loyalist College, and the student government is encouraging everyone to go "green", according to organizers.
Loyalist went green and launched there campaign on March 17. Jessyca Tremblay, incoming Loyalist student government vice-president, handed out various prizes to students who recycled or chose to do something green for the day. The prizes consisted of environmentally-friendly items such as reusable grocery bags, Tim Hortons travel mugs, and Green Guide Magazines.
"I saw a lot of people recycling, especially with the new bins. It wasn't as many as we had hoped but we were able to hand out the 400 grocery bags," Tremblay said
The college purchased $124 recycling receptacles in January 2008, along with a new advertising campaign throughout Loyalist in hopes to attract participation from students. The launch was run by Loyalist student government President Jessica Bourque.
"I hope that they are working out well. They are properly labelled so it's not very hard to use them and recycling is pretty easy. If you have a bottle, just keep it [until you get to a bin] instead of throwing it in the garbage," Bourque suggests.
The new three section 90 gallon receptacles are distributed throughout the hallways of Loyalist. The bins cost Loyalist $124 each because they were bought in bulk from Waste Services Incorporated.
"I think it's awesome that they are here," Tara Hamilton, a 23-year-old environmental technology student at Loyalist, said. "I will carry my bottles until I find a recycling bin around the school."
"We are taking a step that needs to be taken," said Chris Thompson, a 23-year-old public relations student. He is on the athletic council and designed the symbol used for the recycling campaign.
Thompson said he hasn't heard of any other colleges taking the "step" that Loyalist has taken with this campaign.
"I am glad to see that they are here," he said.
"It is a good thing to have these incentives for students. And the bins are good because they have the plastics, cans, and paper but I think that they should have garbage [containers] beside each one because people will throw their garbage in them 'cause they don't care," said Jen Welch, an environmental technology student at Loyalist.
On March 10, a recycling survey was sent out to everyone at Loyalist through the college's email by Ashley Mazurkewich, a second-year environmental technology student. The results are to go to a waste management project. The plans for the project include education, surveying, comparisons to other schools, and a mission statement.
The results of the survey have not yet been analyzed.

Side bar Information
Earth Hour: March 29, 2008 from 8pm- 9pm.
Places in Belleville that are taking part in earth hour: Belleville's Rotary Club, Hastings Manor, The County administration, Loyola community learning centre, Pathways to Independence, Kane-MacKay & Associates Ltd, The Richmond Retirement Residence, Windows to Technology Ltd.
History of it how long ago it started: Earth Hour was created on March 31, 2007 in Sydney Australia by the World Wildlife Fund. It was created as and effort to reduce energy consumption throughout the world. There were 2.2 million people as well as 2,100 businesses in Sydney turned off their lights participated. Sydney reduced the carbon dioxide emissions into the air by 25,000 tonnes in those 60 minutes. The emission reduction was the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars of the road for one hour.
Some major cities that are taking part in Earth Hour this year are Aalborg, Aarhus, Copenhagen and Odense, Denmark; Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; Chicago, USA; Manila, Philippines; Suva, Fiji; Tel Aviv, Israel; Toronto, Canada.