The Student Association Recycling Center learned Tuesday it will receive a grant of $5,371 from the Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

Out of 116 applications for grants, 27 were granted and NIU got one, said SA Recycling Center Adviser David Broustis.

The money will be used to buy a bailer and other pieces of equipment that supplement the bailer, Broustis said. A bailer is used to compress materials which are then wrapped with wire and recycled.

“The bailer will be used for starting a cardboard recycling program on campus,” Broustis said. “Right now, cardboard is probably one-half to one-third of the garbage on campus.”

Broustis said he will reserve a bailer so he can implement the program immediately when the grant reaches his desk. He said he plans to have the cardboard recycling plan begin in January at the outset of the spring semester.

Containers will be placed in residence hall cafeterias for the cardboard and will be brought to the recycling center every day. Most of the cardboard on campus comes from the cafeterias, Broustis said.

“We’ll probably be saving the university $30,000 a year,” Broustis said. Currently, NIU spends $127,000 on garbage, he said.

Broustis said he figured this amount from a University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana study examining what percentage of waste contributed to the stream of materials and found that cardboard is 25 to 30 percent of all waste.

“For a month, we have picked up newspapers, cans and glass from the residence halls. A bailer would help process the materials quicker,” Broustis said, adding the bailer can compact newspapers, cans and cardboard.

“Hopefully, this will increase awareness by students and help them contribute to the recycling program,” Broustis said.