Fourteen recycling bins were removed from the Student Family Housing complex and South Campus two weeks ago.
All seven of the bins at SFH were removed, and seven of more than 100 bins were removed from South Campus.
Serena Pearson, spokeswoman for Risk Management - which includes sustainability and recycling - said the bins were taken out to make the pickup route more efficient.
"I know it doesn't sound like it by taking things out," Pearson said. "But we're just trying to space things out a little better so we are more efficient by getting better use of our resources and our recycling technicians."
Dennis Weber, manager of Student Family Housing, said SFH is encouraging residents to take their recyclables to a City of Albuquerque recyclables dropoff center.
"We are trying to find an alternative solution, but at the moment we haven't found one . other than to take it to the City of Albuquerque Recycling Center," he said. "We can encourage people to do that, but we don't have a way of doing it. The recycling department was coming and picking up the bins and taking it to the appropriate place on campus, I presume."
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The nearest dropoff area is 1.5 miles away on Main Campus, but the recycling bins on campus are removed during the summer months. Residents of SFH stay in the complex through the summer, and the next closest area is 2.8 miles away at the Hilton Hotel, according to the city's Web site.
Weber said the SFH residents were urged to use the recycling bins available at the complex and had begun to do so before they were removed.
Pearson said students should try to dispose of recyclables in other bins on campus.
Two of the seven bins taken from South Campus could hold up to 65 gallons.
"On South Campus, there are probably somewhere between 100 to 200 bins from desk size to large bins that are remaining on campus," she said. "Seven out of 100 is not a lot. We have possibly a thousand bins if you look on the North, Main, and the South campuses."
Pearson said she doesn't anticipate that more bins will be removed in the future but that the department will continue to examine the usefulness of bins in particular locations.
"We're looking at, 'Do we really need to have these bins in this location?'" she said. "'Would it be better served if we had it in a more centralized area, where people would know where it's at or see it more visibly?'"
Sophomore Thu Goan said she doesn't think the bins should have been removed because of the environmental benefits of recycling.
"They should be put back, because recycling is part of the green movement and it will help the environment," she said.
Junior Katherine Reut said there are plenty of opportunities to recycle, even with the bins gone.
"I'm sure some people are upset," she said. "But I personally didn't know (the bins) were there, and I found other venues, so I'm sure other people can, too."
