Twenty-four Arkansas Tech University public relations and sociology students have collaborated throughout the spring 2026 semester to develop a comprehensive public education campaign to increase understanding of recycling in the City of Russellville.
“We found that most people in Russellville are interested in recycling and care about recycling, but they don’t really know how to do it, where to put their recycling or what they’re supposed to recycle,” said ATU student Madelyn Atkins of Beebe. “There is a care about it, but there wasn’t much education on how to do it.”
Atkins and her classmates are enrolled in an interdisciplinary project-based learning (IPBL) course that blends the senior-level Sociology Capstone class with the senior-level Public Relations Project class at Arkansas Tech.
The class is led by Dr. Julie Mikles-Schluterman, ATU professor of sociology and director of the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach, and Megan Toland, ATU associate professor of journalism.
Mikles-Schluterman and Toland divided the class into small working groups at the beginning of the spring 2026 semester. The groups were assigned tasks such as developing content for branding the concept of recycling in Russellville and promoting that brand on social media. The ATU students also conducted in-person recycling education in local K-12 classrooms.
“We realized that people need recycling put into simple terms,” said ATU student Ellie Stokes of Dardanelle. “It’s hard to know what you can and what you can’t recycle. We’ve created logos and buttons…a bunch of visual aids…because people love pictures, especially on social media. We have everything from brochures to graphics so the city can continue using those in the future.”
The ATU IPBL class will present its findings and recommendations to the Russellville City Council on Thursday, April 16, at Russellville City Hall.
“I did not know much about recycling, and I didn’t think our city was ready to recycle,” said ATU student Khloi Turner of Dardanelle. “But everything I’ve learned with outreach and community involvement shows me that everyone wants to recycle and it is truly something our community needs. It has been eye opening in terms of how our planet is doing at the current state and what we can do to benefit it later.”
The final step in the ATU students’ semester-long process will be hosting a table at an Earth Day celebration scheduled for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at James School Park, 807 W. 4th Place in Russellville. They will provide games and information to help promote recycling in Russellville.
“This class has been very communicative and relationship-based,” said Stokes. “We’ve worked together a lot and we’ve worked with community partners. I’ve learned what it means to work with a partner in terms of scheduling and being prompt. I am majoring in both sociology and public relations, so working with people is really important. They really stressed this is like a real job, so those relationships have been really important and probably the area in which I have improved the most.”
The timing of the class and the community education plan they have helped develop is aligned with the creation of a new recycling drop-off location at 1801 S. Knoxville Ave. in Russellville.
According to the City of Russellville website, the new drop-off site will allow residents to recycle cardboard, paper, aluminum cans, steel cans and glass. There are also plans for bi-annual electronic waste recycling events at the site.
“They have been doing a fantastic job,” said Sara Jondahl, director of sustainability and resilience for the City of Russellville, when asked about the ATU students working on the recycling community education initiative. “They’ve been asking questions and learning everything they can about recycling so they can accurately explain and display that information for the community. This is going to be instrumental in helping everyone in the community know what they can and cannot recycle so we can reduce contamination rates, especially as we launch a new drop-off location. The work the class has done has been phenomenal, and I think it is going to be significant for this community.”
Jondahl said construction of the new City of Russellville recycling center on South Knoxville Avenue will begin on or before April 20.
For Turner, it’s just another sign that Russellville is a community on the rise.
“I did not realize how great of a community we have and how much our community is growing and moving forward,” said Turner. “Partnering with the city and seeing what Russellville wants for Russellville…the current administration has done nothing but grow our community. As someone who has been at Tech for almost four years, it’s beautiful to see where our community is going. It’s amazing to be part of the change and grow the change in other people. Don’t count Russellville out. It’s just going to continue to get bigger and better.”
