Sustainability @ the
University of Rochester

Recyclemania: Let the Games Begin!

January 2010
There’s a fever gripping the students across River Campus, but it’s no horrible affliction— it’s Recyclemania!  Recyclemania is a competition between universities and colleges across the country, a few in Canada, and even one institute in Qatar.  Almost 400 different institutions in every state but Alaska have registered for the competition.  Participating institutions must report the weights of their trash and recyclables on a weekly basis from January 17 to March 27.

There are four main awards for the competition:

• Grand Champion: For the school with the highest recycling as a percentage of waste generated.
• Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic: For the school that collects the largest amount of recycling per person.
• Waste Minimization:  For the school that produces the least amount of trash and recyclables per person.
• Gorilla Prize:  For the school that recycles the most paper, cardboard, bottles and cans overall.

There are also smaller awards for producing the largest amount of particular recyclables per person.  These categories include paper, corrugated cardboard, bottles and cans, and food service organics.  The per person calculations for every award include every member of each University—staff and faculty count too!  So it’s important for everyone here at the University to make sure they recycle everything they can!

To support the University over this long competition, Grassroots Co-President Edith Hanson and University Recycling Coordinator Amy Kadrie have worked together to create a series of events to raise awareness of recycling and waste reduction.  These include:

• tours of the Monroe County Recycling Facility on February 12,
• silk-screening recycling logos onto clothes on February 10,
• a party for the students on February 20, and
• “Feelin’ Trashy” on March 4.  In this event, students are asked to carry a personal garbage bag with them the entire day and collect all the garbage they personally produce, and at the end of the day, bags are weighed and three people with the lightest loads will win prizes.

Not all the events are just for students, though.  There’s also a Green Tech Fair, cosponsored by Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), Computer Science Undergraduate Council (CSUG), and the Computer Interest Floor (CIF).  It will be taking place on March 18 in Hirst Lounge in Wilson Commons from 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.  The highlight of the fair will be a stationary bicycle hooked up to power a television, designed and created by ESW.  There will also be stations demonstrating the most efficient ways to use common electronics.

Beyond the events, the Recyclemania competition itself is open to all members of the University family.  Staff, student and faculty are all counted in the tallies for garbage and recycling produced.  So, support the students of River Campus, support the University overall, and support the environment. Make sure you recycle or compost everything you can, and also be sure to reduce your waste. 

Most importantly, though, don’t forget that even though Recyclemania ends on March 27, good personal recycling and waste reduction habits should carry on long beyond that!

For more information about Recyclemania, please visit www.recyclemaniacs.org/index.htm.

If you are interested in attending any of the events or have any questions regarding Recyclemania at the University of Rochester, please e-mail Recycling Coordinator Amy Kadrie at amy.kadrie@rochester.edu.