The dorms and classrooms at Michigan State University are filled with numerous recycling bins for all types of materials. However, when students move off-campus, they find their recycling options very limited. Most apartments in East Lansing do not offer recycling pickup, forcing residents to either drive their recyclables to other drop-off areas or simply throw them in the trash. Campus Village apartments is one housing complex that does not have a recycling system, and Community Manager Katie Larner says it is just not easy enough to simply put out bins.
However, there has been some unhappy residents that want the ability to recycle in their communities. MSU Greenpeace is currently drafting a petition that would go to the city of East Lansing asking that they make recycling mandatory for the apartment complexes. Though the city would have the power to implement this rule, Larner says it would also take some governmental help to be able to offer a recycling system in their buildings.