APSU students build on record recycling season with expanded sustainability programs

CLARKSVILLE, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Office of Community Engagement and Sustainability (CES) is expanding its campus initiatives this spring after student volunteers collected a record 330.6 pounds of recyclables during the 2025 football season.

The office also hosted its inaugural campus-wide Clothing and Thrift Swap on March 4 and is planning a World Water Day celebration for March 24. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the MUC Plaza, followed by a documentary screening at 6 p.m. in MUC 312.

“I am always excited to showcase how Austin Peay strives to be a green campus – whether it’s explaining where our recycling goes, supporting more water bottle filling stations in our building, or hosting environmental documentaries and events,” said Kayla Miller-Zapata, CES’s sustainability coordinator.

CES will also host its Earth Week programming from April 20-24, including the signature Plant the Campus Red initiative and various workshops and events.

“We have heard students express interest in learning how to sew and mend clothing, so we are offering a beginner sewing workshop for Earth Week, along with hosting the Earth Day Fair on April 22,” said Amberthest Wertanen, CES’s AmeriCorps VISTA sustainability specialist.

These initiatives build on the growing student engagement with campus sustainability, evidenced by the APSU Recycling Team’s success last semester. Twenty-three volunteers contributed 101 hours across six home football games, collecting 14,021 bottles and cans. The team also donated $103 in recycled aluminum to Clarksville’s Habitat for Humanity.

“It may be a small thing to clean up after a football game, but Mother Nature will be healing from that small impact,” said Priya Patel, a student who has served on the Recycling Team for three years.

Student volunteers make up most of the Recycling Team, monitoring recycling bins throughout the stadium and sorting materials behind the Shasteen Building. Wertanen leads recruitment and training for the program.

CES continues year-round sustainability efforts funded by a $10 per semester student fee established in 2008. The office maintains 23 water filling stations across campus, manages seven solar charging stations, and offers community programming through APSU’s Outdoor Education Center, among other initiatives.