The word “competition” is generally associated with sports, but the University is now partaking in a competition that deals with nothing but recycling.

The University is one of 514 universities or colleges competing in this year’s 10 week Recyclemania put on by the National Recycling Coalition.

The competition began on Jan. 18 and will end on March 28, with this being the seventh year the University has competed in the event.

Categories for the events include the largest amount of recyclables per capita collected, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, the highest recycling rate and the most amount of recyclables in targeted areas such as paper, bottles and cans and food service organics.

While the University will be participating in all categories, its main focus is on how much the residence halls can recycle, Interim Sustainability Director Nick Hennessey said.

“I think Recyclemania is really exciting because of the way it is encouraging the residence halls to get involved in saving the planet,” said Kohl Hall Resident Adviser Chris Weinland.

Hennessey said he not only sees this as national competition, but also one on campus for the residence halls.

At the end of each week, posters will be hung in the residence halls to show how much each hall has collectively recycled and how much of each material has been recycled.

“We attempt to be as competitive as we can in all areas,” Hennessey said. “One of them is the residence area though.”

One area the residence halls and the entire campus will not be standing up to the competition is in glass.

Hennessey said the University stopped recycling glass after last year’s Recyclemania due to cost.

“I hoped to be able to recycle glass again this year, but it probably won’t happen because we don’t have the organization to do so,” he said.

However, Kohl Hall is the one place on campus with the will and organization to do so, with glass receptacles located on every floor for staff and students use.

“We decided to continue recycling glass because of the big push by our hall council this year,” Weinland said.

According to Hennessey, the lack of glass recycling in the competition can severely hurt the University in all areas because standings are based on weight.

Hennessey said a University recycling bin full of glass weighs 224 pounds while a full plastic one weighs about 14 pounds.

“We are really missing the weight,” he said.

Faculty and staff are also encouraged to recycle items and cut down on trash.

“The competition is about raising awareness and resource conservation so it resonates with students, faculty and staff,” said Alec Cooley of the National Recycling Coalition.

The posters, bulletin boards and the traveling banner provided by the NRC are meant to target everyone on campus, not just students.

“Everyone needs to help BG recycle,” Hennessey said.

The Recyclemania competition began in spring of 2001 between Miami University and Ohio University. The next year, the University and Harvard joined the competition and the University won, recycling 48 pounds per person.

“It began as an informal challenge in 2001 to get students involved and excited about recycling,” Cooley said.

Although it began as an informal challenge, BGSU has a handful of regional competition – which includes Miami University, OU, Ohio State University and new additions Case Western Reserve and John Carroll University.

The purpose of the competition is to encourage recycling and sustainability efforts, but schools with the highest amount of recyclables in each category also receive an added benefit.

“They get glory,” Cooley said.

Trophies made of recycled materials are also given to the top school in each category for the year.

As of Feb. 6, when the weekly standings were listed on recyclemania.org, the University was not ranked in any of the eight categories.

“I want people to keep in mind the best way to contribute is to recycle,” Hennessey said.