The Student Association and the Environmental Law Association are co-sponsoring an Earth Day celebration Friday at 12:30 p.m. on the Quad, in honor of the wonders of Mother Earth.

Students will be treated to free veggie burgers, ecologically sound prizes and the unveiling of the University’s new recycling bins.

“GW recycles, but the problem is most people don’t even know it,” said Jennifer Thomson, SA vice president of undergraduate policy.

She said the reason students remain unaware of the recycling program is that recycling bins are unclearly marked. The University’s blue outdoor garbage cans and recycling bins are virtually identical, Thomson said.

Students involved with the SA’s Green Initiative, which focuses on campus environmental improvement, worked with the administration to develop a new dome-shaped cover that will clearly mark outdoor recycling bins. Facilities Management Director Walter Gray will present the new recycling bins at the event Friday. New plastic indoor bins will be showcased as well.

Other Earth Day festivities on the Quad will educate students about how recycling works and its importance to the University.

Students will compete for a $50 gift certificate to Patagonia by separating the plastic, glass and aluminum contents of a full recycling bin.

“I think it will be smelly and messy, and hopefully catch people’s attention,” said Jim Assal, a Green Initiative member who helped plan the event.

Assal, an environmental studies major, will kick off the day’s activities at 10 a.m. with a tree planting on F and 22 streets. He will lead about 20 students in a four-hour planting session using half of the $8,000 Trees for GW received through a grant from the Cafritz Foundation.

“Every year, a new group of students tries to improve the recycling program here,” Assal said. “This year, the administration and grounds people have been very helpful, and the situation looks promising.”