Gov. Jim Edgar approved eight bills last week which have been designed to promote recycling and recycled materials.

Beginning on July 1, 1992, one of the laws states at least 10 percent of all public elementary and secondary school’s paper products must be from recycled materials.

This bill does not include colleges and universities.

There are no laws enforced at NIU that mandate the use of recycled products, but most of the photocopied paper used on campus is from recycled materials, said Rachel Vellenga, director of SA recycling.

The new law should apply to all colleges and universities and “ideally, it is something that should be done voluntarily,” she said.

Vellenga said she would like to see more recycling in the dorms and a safer way to dispose of the hazardous waste on campus, particularly in the Art building.

There are curbside bins at each dorm that get picked up every Saturday, but Vellenga said she is not sure how effective it is, if at all.

The SA recycling consists of eight paid employers. But the faculty has little to do with recycling on campus, Vellenga said.

There would not be such a program on campus if it weren’t for the efforts of the students, unless the state mandated it, she said.

Vellenga said she wants the Recycling Committee meeting that will take place this Sunday to encompass not just recycling, but all environmental issues.

Vellenga added that people who are angry about universities being excluded from the bills should write to their representatives as a way to voice their opinion.