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| Posted 03.17.08 |
Wesleyan Competes in RecycleMania
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For the second year in a row, Wesleyan is participating in the nation-wide
competition, RecycleMania, for college and university recycling programs.
The 10-week program provides campus communities with a fun, proactive
activity in waste reduction.
More than 400 institutions are participating in different contests to see
which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita,
the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per
capita, or have the highest recycling rate.
 "This
is a fun way for the Wesleyan community to get excited about recycling, and
possibly end up with national recognition, awards and bragging rights,"
explains Jeff Miller, associate director of Facilities Management.
Since Jan. 27, Miller has been measuring Wesleyan's recycling efforts from
residence halls and academic and administrative buildings. One a week,
recycled materials are collected from various outside locations on campus
and weighed. Cardboard weight collection is estimated by the size of
containers removed from various locations on campus.
Miller reports the poundage to the RecycleMania organization for weekly
ranking.
Wesleyan is competing in the “Partial Campus” category, because 25 percent
of campus's recyclable materials are collected by the City of Middletown,
and these collection amounts cannot be measured in the competition.
In the “Partial Campus” category, Wesleyan has ranked in the upper half of
44 schools in paper and cardboard recycling, and in the top half of 50
schools in bottles and cans. Wesleyan ranks 57th per capita overall, which
equals roughly 14 pounds per person recycled, putting the university ahead
of Williams, Middlebury, Tufts, Bowdoin, Hamilton and Colby in the
competition.
“Wesleyan is competing against its peer institutions, which makes the
competition even more exciting,” explains Joyce Topshe, associate vice
president for facilities. “Even after the competition is over, we hope
Wesleyan continues its outstanding achievements in recycling and waste
reduction.”
RecycleMania began in February 2001 when Ed Newman (Ohio University) and
Stacy Edmonds Wheeler (Miami University) decided that something had to be
done to increase recycling in the residence and dinning halls on their
campuses. The word spread and by 2006, 93 colleges and universities were
participating. The number grew to 201 in 2007, and doubled for this years
competition. Awards, trophies and participant certificates are given
following the competition.
To learn more about the structure of the competition and Wesleyan’s weekly
rankings, go to
http://www.recyclemaniacs.org.
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By Olivia Bartlett, The Wesleyan Connection
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