72,000 pounds of material collected via RecycleMania
After 10 weeks of competing to reduce, reuse, and recycle, in the 2009 RecycleMania event, SUNY Fredonia generated nearly 72,000 pounds of recycled materials.
This resulted in a respectable 157th-place finish in the “Competition Division,” which held nearly 300 colleges and universities. Fredonia’s total equates to 11.4 pounds per person, including all full-time students, faculty and staff.
RecycleMania promotes waste reduction activities and recycling programs on college campuses. The schools are ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, and the least amount of trash per capita. This year 510 colleges, 4.7 million students, and 1.1 million facility and staff participated in the event from all 50 states in addition to Canada, the District of Columbia, and India. California State University of San Marcos was named the Grand Champion of 2009. In all, the schools recycled 69.4 million pounds of waste and organic materials.
In 2001, RecycleMania began as a fun and friendly competition between Ohio University and Miami University to see which school could recycle the most. College students, Ed Newman (Ohio University) and Stacy Edmonds Wheeler (Miami University), created the competition as a means to encourage recycling in residence and dining halls. Eight years later, RecycleMania continues to promote waste reduction and recycling programs on campus communities.
SUNY Fredonia is committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability. As part of its mission, the campus seeks to explore the ecological impact of its activities and services in order to reduce the harmful impact of its members’ daily lifestyles on the world, and improve its environmental performance. For more information on SUNY Fredonia’s continuing efforts to go green, visit www.fredonia.edu/gogreen.
