July 2, 2009

BCU SIFE Team Pilots Dunes Recycling Program

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Briar Cliff University’s Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) and Independence Waste of Elk Point, S.D., are partnering to launch a curbside recycling program in Dakota Dunes, S.D., beginning in July.  The program is available with regular garbage pickup on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.

“The BCU SIFE team wanted to create a project with local impact and environmental sustainability,” said Marilyn Eastman, BCU assistant professor of business administration and SIFE advisor. “Results from an online survey conducted by the SIFE team showed 77 percent of Dakota Dunes residents wanted to do more to protect the environment,” Eastman explained. 

Last November, BCU SIFE members presented their findings to the Dakota Dunes Community Improvement District and representatives of the three waste companies serving Dakota Dunes, including Independence Waste, who made a commitment to the project.

“We used the survey results, which showed a high demand for curbside recycling, and put together a program with all of the features residents suggested, including a 96-gallon single stream container to dispose all of their recyclable materials,” said Aaron Keuck of Independence Waste.

“I’ve been working on this project from the beginning,” said Brent Miller, a senior Business major and SIFE president, of Rockwell City, Iowa. “It is rewarding helping to make a positive impact on the environment.”

Independence Waste also is working on bringing curbside recycling to all Union County residents. For more information on the recycling program, call 800-515-0051 or email knpinc5@iw.net.

SIFE is a non-profit organization that works with business and higher education to assist students in developing leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise. For more information about how Siouxland non-profit organizations can partner with BCU’s SIFE team, please contact Marilyn Eastman at Briar Cliff at marilyn.eastman@briarcliff.edu.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from 24 states and four countries.  Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care and compassion. For more information, please visit briarcliff.edu.

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