Loyola’s Sustainability Committee plans to install new recycling bins and a solar-powered picnic table this semester.

The table will include a round bench and a large umbrella covering, and will be located in the Palm Court. The center of the table will serve as a charging station for portable electronic devices.

New recycling bins are also making their way to campus. The bins will hold 72 gallons of recycled materials.

“We’ve been trying get more recycling bins for years. That has been the biggest battle with LASS,” George Vena, president of Loyola Association of Students for Sustainability, said.

Bob Thomas, head of the Sustainability Committee, thinks that the current bins are too hidden.

“I have students tell me all the time, ‘Why don’t we recycle here?’ I tell them, ‘We do,’” Thomas said.

Cayla Kelton, history senior, said she agrees that the recycling bins are not obvious on campus.

“I feel like I have to look for them which makes it more difficult for me to recycle,” Kelton said.

The committee plans to place the new bins in heavy traffic locations. They will also include images that indicate which items belong in each bin.

Thomas said the bins will be stylish and “Loyola-ized,” including a Wolf Pack logo.

“I think we have a beautiful campus. And I think a big, round blue garbage can looks terrible,” Thomas said.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans generated 254 million tons of trash and 4,058,210 megawatt-hours of electricity in 2013.

The Sustainability Committee hopes that the new recycling bins and the solar-powered picnic table will increase sustainability awareness on campus.

Thomas said he hopes the momentum will bring recycling back into the residence halls.

Amy Boyle, director of Residential Life, said Res Life has already been making plans to bring recycling into the dorms.

“We will start with the installation of the bins on all residence hall porches, and we plan to review opportunities this summer for fall implementation,” Boyle said.

Boyle said this would include recycling on floors and wings in each hall.