While one cannot throw a rock without hitting one of the blue recycling bins on campus, the opportunities to recycle off campus can sometimes be hard to find. However, with combined efforts from the city of Tuscaloosa and The University of Alabama, those who want to recycle have the ability to do so.

In a city dotted with private residences, rental properties and apartments, waste disposal service comes in a variety of ways. In homes and rental properties, recycling bins come alongside the trash receptacles provided by the city of Tuscaloosa’s waste management service. For those who live in the multitude of apartment complexes oriented towards student living, recycling is an option sparsely offered.

“Recycling is present here in Tuscaloosa. The hard part is getting the word out with the ever-transient city we have. People come and go all the time,” Ashley Chambers, the environmental coordinator for the city of Tuscaloosa, said. “New folks move in almost every semester.”

Chambers is in charge of educating the public on trash disposal and recycling opportunities. This includes the recycling program, used since 2000, that provides curbside recycling service to the areas around campus as well as more remote locations that lie within the city limits that are capable of receiving service. Chambers said the program has been successful in student-populated areas.

As a solution to providing services for students and residents who do not qualify for curbside recycling services, such as most of those living in apartments, the city has placed blue recycling trailers in public locations across the city that provide free and easy access. The trailer closest to campus is located at the University Church of Christ on Julia Tutwiler Drive. Current locations of the trailers are spread out, but the city plans to expand to more locations in the future in order to better serve the area.

While recycling is a common practice for some students, it is more of a second thought for others unaccustomed to recycling.

“I don’t know if some students understand the importance of recycling, or just the general ease that can be associated with recycling,” said Dorothy Beck, a junior majoring in food and nutrition, who recycles at her apartment off campus. “It’s really just as simple as being conscious of the trash you create.”

The city is not the only entity to provide recycling opportunities to students living off campus in the Tuscaloosa area. The University offers its Drive Up Recycling program alongside its programs on campus, which allows for community members to drop off recyclable items such as aluminum cans, tin cans, paper, cardboard and plastic at the Ancillary Services Building located at 1115 14th St.

For the city, growth in recycling is important, Chambers said. Alongside opening up new drop-off locations, the city will be opening its new recycling plant in January 2014, complete with observation deck and public tours.

“We’re far from perfect, but we are trying our best to expand as much as possible,” Chambers said.