Many students who habitually recycled during their time on campus have had difficulty accessing recycling services once they move to apartments or houses in Evanston.

“I would like to recycle but I don’t know how,” said Communication senior Shereen Mady, who lives in an apartment on Sherman Avenue and Simpson Street.

According to the Undergraduate Housing 2002-2003 Booklet, about 2,700 undergraduate students either commute from home or live off-campus each year. Although many students have not figured out how to recycle once off-campus, the service is readily available.

The city of Evanston employs private recycling company Groot Recycling and Waste Services, Inc. to pick up and sort the recycling for residents of houses or apartment buildings of up to four units. Zeltee Edwards, the city’s superintendent for streets and sanitation, said recycling bins should be present at move-in.

“The cost for the Groot service is automatically added into residents’ water bill,” said Edwards. “There’s a monthly charge of $2.00.”

Derek Supple, a McCormick senior and co-facilitators for Students for Ecological and Environmental Deveopment, has lived in an off-campus house for three years and found out about recycle bins on his own.

“We recycle pretty darn good (now),” he said.

Replacement bins are available at the City Clerk’s Office, 2100 Ridge Avenue. The first is free and subsequent replacements are five dollars. Students can also take their recyclables to the Evanston Recycling Center, 2222 Oakton Street on Fridays from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Recycling at apartment complexes with more than four units is not as simple. Groot does not service these buildings, but landlords are required by Illinios State Law to provide services, Edwards said. In this situation, residents should ask their landlords about services.

James Smith, a Music and Weinberg sophomore who lives in an apartment on Clark Street, said he was unaware if services were provided.

“One would think that the owners of apartment buildings that typically lease to Northwestern students would make more of an effort to encourage recycling,” Smith said. “I don’t like throwing my cans away, but I quite frankly don’t have the time to go through extensive investigation to figure out how.”