RecycleMania competition takes CU by storm
As if CU couldn’t be more obsessed with separating bottles, cans, papers and plastics, students and faculty will now have a chance to participate in the newest form of recycling awareness: RecycleMania.
RecycleMania began in February 2001 when Miami University and Ohio University went head to head to see which school could recycle the most. During this competition, the number of participating schools nationwide doubled.
This year, CU is one of 400 colleges and universities competing to be the grand champion of recycling and waste management.
RecycleMania kicked off at CU with “Scrape Your Plate Day” in every dining hall on campus where students could scrape their waste into compost containers in front of the dish line.
“Usually these containers are behind the scenes,” said Daniel Baril, Recycling Program manager at CU. “Dining units are composting on a regular basis behind the scenes but students don’t really know that.”
Baril emphasized the importance of creating awareness about recycling on campus.
“It was an opportunity for us to advise them to reduce their waste,” he said. “If they’re not taking as much, dining can produce less food, lower cost overall, and lower amounts of waste.”
To become champion, schools must compete in the Per Capita Classic and Waste Minimization. The Classic rewards those schools with the most acceptable recyclables per person, where Waste Minimization challenges schools to produce the least amount of trash and recyclables possible.
Last year, CU finished 26th with about 29 percent recycled material. As of Feb. 2 this year CU is in 26th place with twice as many schools competing than in 2007.
To enter into the RecycleMania competition, schools must first categorize themselves as a whole or partial campus. The majority of participating schools are registered in the Whole Campus Division, which demands all facilities associated with the campus register material weights. Those schools participating in the Partial Campus Division must identify all students and faculty involved, as well as the parameters and track record of the intended locations.
Last year there was speculation that rival school CSU entered in the Whole Campus Division, but did not weigh materials from the entire campus.
Sheela Backen, manager of CSU’s Integrated Solid Waste Management Program, said CSU participates in the same process as CU.
“It’s the same process at CSU as it is at CU; both of our volumes are weight-based,” Backen said. “They take the number of students and staff reported to the Department of Education, divided by the total weight to equal the pounds per person. The Grand Champion is the school that did the most recycling compared to how much landfill they produced.”
CSU is currently ranked the Grand Champion of all schools participating in RecycleMania as of Feb. 15.
“There are trucks all over the place,” said Brooke Bell, CSU freshman biochemistry major. “Our student center is coated in posters. CSU made recycling a lot more accessible [for this event]. Especially if you put CSU against CU, you know you’re going to get results.”
CU will host RecycleMania events such as an upcoming scavenger hunt and the RecycleMania X-games on April 2. The games will consist of a Dumpster Dive, Pizza Box Thro, Phone Book Shot-put, and the Recycled Fashion Contest.
“The whole goal of RecycleMania is to raise awareness about the Recycle Program,” Baril said. “Regardless of the contest, if we can increase our recycling rate than I would count CU’s effort as a success.”
For a list of the rules and regulations, visit the RecycleMania Web site or visit CU Recycling for a full list of events on campus.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Alison Mesinger at Alison.mesinger@colorado.edu.
