CHAMPAIGN – University of Illinois students will recycle if given the chance, supporters told the city council during a discussion of Champaign starting a recycling program for apartments and other multifamily properties.

"If you make the resource available, the students will use it," Cassie Carroll, a University of Illinois graduate and executive director with the Illinois Green Business Association, said at Tuesday night's city council meeting.

Anthony Larson, president of Students for Environmental Concerns at the UI, agreed, telling council members that education is an important part of any recycling program.

He also agrees that the market for certain materials, particularly mixed recyclables that have to be sorted, is an issue. But the main thing is that Champaign apartment residents will be able to do recycling, he said.

Larson said every year at Quad Day, a lot of students from Champaign complain that they cannot recycle. There have been people who consistently haul materials to the Champaign drop-off site and even those who take their recyclables to Urbana, he said.

"We are really excited," Larson said. "This is a big success for us."

Michael La Due, council member from District 2, which includes the Champaign campus area, said it is not just UI students who want recycling. Residents throughout the community support recycling, he said.

"This is not a primarily university campus initiative," La Due said. "This is citywide."