Feb 05, 2015 01:02 PM EST By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Grambling State University will expand its recycling program to make the planet a little greener, school officials announced.

The Louisiana campus will soon be the home of 12 recycling bins by the beginning of March. An additional eight green recycling bins will join the four that replaced Waste Management trash bins behind the Athletics building and dormitories as part of a university-recycling program that began Nov.15, 2014.

"The citizens are elated about the prospect of recycling," Mayor Edward Jones said in a statement. "They have been asking me when we are going to get started.  We are happy to be a part of that process.  It's environmentally sound for us to have a recycling project in the city. It should make a huge impact on what we have been throwing in the garbage, as opposed to what we will be recycling in the future."

In addition to more recycling bins, Grambling is also partnering with the city of Grambling to gather recyclables within the city. Though plans are not yet complete, Jones said the cooperative could begin with a shared location where both members of the public and the university could drop off their recyclables.

The university has plans to turn the recycling initiative into a long-term project that will both help save the planet and generate income for the university, which eventually plans to build a Recycling Profit Center in GSU's West Campus.

In the long run, Grambling would also like to partner with the city of Ruston, Louisiana Tech University and other surrounding communities and colleges.

"We do not have the resources at the moment to collect residential recycling, but eventually, we would like to recycle for all of northern Louisiana.  That would be our goal.  This is a commercial venture, as well as a save-the-planet venture," said John Rosenthall, vice president of Research Advancement and Economic Development at Grambling State University.

Starting a recycling program will not only save energy and reduce landfill space, but it can also save the university money by reducing the amount spent on trash being picked up from the campus.

The school is partnering with Pratt Industries, a company with recycling and recovery facilities in eight states.

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