Part of the James Madison University campus was filled with trash Wednesday, but volunteers say it's a good thing.

Dozens of bags of trash from various areas on the campus were brought to the front lawn of the ISAT/CS building.

The bags were opened and student volunteers sorted the contents into groups of different recyclable materials.
The purpose for the exercise was to show how much of what is thrown away could have been recycled.

JMU's Coordinator of Environmental Stewardship Efforts, Christie-Joy Hartman, says the event is not just for show.

"This is about the fourth time this has been done and each year, we see an increase in the recycling rate," says Hartman. "So, this year our recycling rate is anticipated to be about 35 percent overall for the university and so we want to keep increasing the awareness and hopefully we'll have a recycling rate in the next few years that tops 50 percent."

The event doubles as JMU's observation of National Campus Sustainability Day, an observance that began in 2003 to encourage colleges and universities to adopt more earth-friendly policies.