UWA partners with City for Livingston Recycle Center
LIVINGSTON — The University of West Alabama and the Livingston community can now take recycling to the next level thanks to a partnership with The Institute of Sustainability (TIOS), a green certification agreement that will further the University’s ongoing efforts to promote environmental awareness and preservation.
Dr. Lee Stanton leads UWA’s sustainable certification effort along with Robert Stansfield of TIOS. Stanton is an assistant professor of biological and environmental sciences and also serves as director of the Black Belt Conservation and Research Institute.
“In addition to identifying ways we can improve campus operations to become more sustainable, UWA has also made it a priority to lend support in establishing a recycling center for the City of Livingston,” Stanton said. Through a recent collaboration with the City, UWA was able to help secure substantial funding for a citywide sustainability effort.
“Working closely with Mayor Tom Tartt, UWA helped write and submit a grant to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for $259,850 to establish a recycling center that will accept paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum for the residents of Livingston and UWA, thereby reducing costs associated with solid waste disposal,” Stanton explained.
Color-coded recycling bins that represent paper, plastic, and aluminum are located throughout academic buildings, Student Union Building, Homer Fieldhouse, and Pruitt Gymnasium.
For the Livingston community, recyclable items should be taken at the Livingston Recycle Center Drop-off Facility located at Livingston South Industrial Park.
Recycling items accepted include flattened cardboard boxes with no wax, office paper, newspaper, empty aluminum cans, clean aluminum foil, steel or tin food containers, and all plastic materials with no metal parts. Organics are not accepted, so please clean all food containers.
The Livingston Recycle Center features full and self-serve areas. Recyclers can drive to the booth outside of the facility and be greeted by an attendant. To make the process quicker, recyclers should have a list of items ready for disposal so the staff can provide instructions.
The facility is open on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon. The facility will be closed for on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
To learn more about recycling, visit www.centerforblackbelt.org/recycling-program. To learn more about sustainability initiatives at UWA, email Dr. Lee Stanton lstanton@uwa.edu or call 205-652-3415. For more information on The Institute of Sustainability and their certification program email Doug Moore at dmoore@tios.org.