In addition to Humboldt State, more than 600 schools representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five Canadian provinces will compete in nine categories to see who recycles the most on a per capita basis, who produces the least amount of waste and who recycles the largest percentage of their overall waste stream. The competition runs through Mar. 31.
The Plant Operations recycling program will submit weight data for paper, cardboard, cans and bottles, food waste, electronic waste and general trash each week, and will in turn be able to see how the campus measures up against other universities in the continuously updated results. The Waste Reduction & Resource Awareness Program (WRRAP) is organizing a series of RecycleMania outreach events. Students, faculty, and staff members can follow the results and get recycling tips by going to facebook.com/hsusustainability.
“A waste audit done last year showed that nearly half of what we find in campus trash cans is actually recyclable or compostable,” said Sustainability & Waste Coordinator Morgan King. “RecycleMania is about more than simply winning some competition. It is an opportunity for us to raise awareness and to increase participation in our campus recycling and waste reduction programs.”
In 2011, 630 participating colleges and universities collected over 91 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics. This prevented the release of 127,553 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere.
Program management for the 2012 RecycleMania Tournament is provided by the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful. A complete list of participants can be found at recyclemaniacs.org. For more information about HSU’s RecycleMania program, contact Morgan King at mpk9@humboldt.edu.