The University began its annual participation in an international recycling competition Monday, but this year the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.
RecycleMania, a contest that began more than 10 years ago in Ohio, challenges over 600 universities across the nation and even a few in Canada to reduce campus-wide waste and increase their percentage of recycling over an eight week period.
While the University was one of the first schools to begin participating, it previously only competed in the residence halls division of the contest, said Nicholas Hennessy, campus sustainability coordinator.
“This is the first year that we’ll be entering into the campus-wide competition as opposed to just our residence halls,” Hennessy said. “It’s the same national competition, it’s just that this time we’re in the big leagues rather than just a friendly competition.”
Entering into RecycleMania’s campus-wide competition division pins the University up against many around the nation, some significantly smaller but others much larger. This new division means waste and recyclables from every building on campus, not just residence halls, will be measured weekly and converted into weight for submission.
Recycling is only part of the competition, as students, faculty and staff will try to reduce their total waste throughout the contest.
“Throughout the duration of the contest, you may not be producing a million cans and bottles, but that’s not really the purpose,” Hennessy said. “It’s more important to cut your waste as much as possible.”
Waste Management Inc., a third-party supplier, is responsible for emptying dumpsters throughout campus and will be able to give Hennessy the weight of the waste they collect on a weekly basis.
In order to measure recyclables, the custodial staff in residence halls will report what they collect in volume, which Hennessy’s office can then calculate using a volume to weight conversion. For the other buildings on campus, student staff and the recycling grounds crew will be responsible for collecting and reporting volumes.
Competing in the campus-wide division will be much more challenging because of the amount of waste and trying to get more people involved. The Office of Campus Sustainability is trying to encourage campus-wide participation.
“One of the things we’re doing is the ‘Caught Green Handed’ raffle,” said Campus Sustainability intern Jacob Clolinger. “Our volunteers will be going around campus looking for people recycling and entering anyone they see doing so into a drawing to win a gift card for dining services or maybe the bookstore.”
Student organizations like the Environmental Service Club have helped spread awareness throughout campus on the importance of the competition.
“Now that the entire campus is involved, we can see how much we’re throwing away and what percentage is recycled material campus wide,” said Stephanie Noftz, president of the Environmental Service Club. “I think this is a great opportunity for us to become aware of the amount of resources we’re using in our daily lives.”
Also involved is the Residence Student Association, which serves as ambassadors for RecycleMania, said member Elizabeth Schnee. RSA sets up special glass recycling stations in some residence halls since the University stopped recycling glass about four years ago.
“The schools and residence halls that do well are the ones that take on glass, because a full container of glass is 246 pounds as opposed to a full container of plastic, which is about 13 pounds,” said Hennessy.
Both Hennessy and Clolinger encourage students to try and consciously think about their purchases over the next couple months, especially in the all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities.
“Every little bit counts and a huge amount of success will depend on students,” said Hennessy. “There’s over 18,000 of them here using recyclables every day and if we think of this as a marathon rather than a sprint, it can have a huge impact.”
The competition runs from February 4th to March 30th. Anyone can check to see where the University ranks in the contest at RecycleManiacs.org.