According to the competition's Web site, RecycleMania arose out of a need to encourage campuses to look more closely at where their waste is coming from. Although many universities, including Humboldt State, have decades-old recycling programs, particular areas of campus continue to produce as much as 70 percent of the waste. Commonly, dining and housing departments are the biggest contributors of non-recyclable waste.
Gary Strokos, Director of Education for Humboldt State's Campus Recycling Program, points out that modern life, as a whole, might be the cause. "The throw-away culture is the culprit and causes the waste that is produced on this campus. If all people fanatically reused drink and food containers, the volume of materials going to the waste stream would be greatly reduced."
As part of the competition, student-run teams from 400 participating schools are required to report, in pounds, the amount of recycling their campus creates. Humboldt State currently ranks first among public California universities for waste minimization and is in third place for the grand champion prize among similar California schools. Grand Champion schools are selected by showing reduced trash disposal through waste prevention, but also proving they've focused on making sure that a majority of the RecycleMania-acceptable materials generated on campus are recycled. Acceptable goods include paper products, plastic, glass and metal containers and cardboard. Organic waste is not included in campus tallies.
RecycleMania, now it its eighth year, began as a competition between Ohio University and Miami University students who felt they had to do something to stem the tide of waste coming from their respective universities. The contest has since mushroomed to a nation-wide event in 46 states.
With Humboldt State poised to do best in the waste minimization category, Strokos urges campus community members to look for ways to avoid the plastic, metal and glass bins -- in other words make recycling obsolete. "Recycling is the end resort when it comes to being responsible about the waste you produce. Everyone should stop and evaluate what they are consuming and act accordingly by reducing, reusing, repairing, sharing and composting."
For more information on Recyclemania visit their Web site, or visit the Campus Recycling Program at HSU.