Campus competes in RecycleMania for fourth consecutive year

SUNY Fredonia is once again participating in “RecycleMania,” a competition between colleges and universities that in three years’ time has more than doubled in size and grown to an international level.

Fredonia will compete in nine categories over an 8-week period from Feb. 6 through April 2 to see who recycles the most on a per capita basis, who produced the least amount of waste, and who recycles the largest percentage of their overall waste stream. This year, 630 colleges have agreed to participate, encompassing 6 million students and 1.5 million staff and faculty, including 12 SUNY schools among 41 colleges in the state.

The primary goal of the competition is to promote waste reduction activities in campus communities. In 2010, 607 participating colleges and universities collected over 84.5 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics. Last year the campus recycled more than 10,000 pounds per week.

All students, faculty and staff are invited to join the campus-wide campaign to improve resource conservation by expanding SUNY Fredonia’s already considerable recycling volume. The current campus recycling system, part of the school’s movement to “Go Green,” has become remarkably easier to use in the past couple years.

“Our move to a combined recycling program should really help make a difference in our performance in the competition,” said Kevin Cloos, director of Facilities Services at SUNY Fredonia. “By creating a one-stop-drop system that covers 17 different categories of recyclable material and taking the burden of sorting off of our campus community, we’re making it easier for everyone to do their part.”

In addition to this new streamlined recycling system, “Go Green” recycling totes in all student residence hall rooms and faculty and staff offices make a noticeable impact. “And we have also increased the number of larger recycling bins installed among the more populated public areas on campus, knowing that convenience plays a huge role in our success,” Cloos added.

A formula, based on the number of full-time equivalent students, staff and faculty, is used by RecycleMania to calculate pounds collected per person. Last year Fredonia ranked 106th out of the 246 participants in the “Per Capita Classic,” with 14.6 pounds per person. Fredonia also finished fourth out of nine participating SUNY schools, and 13th among 25 colleges in New York State.

Tallies for all 630 participating schools will be posted weekly at www.recyclemaniacs.org.

RecycleMania began in 2001 as a challenge between Miami University of Ohio and Ohio University. Today it is independently owned and governed by the RecycleMania Steering Committee, which is made up of recycling managers from six participating universities. Administrative support for the 2011 tournament is provided by the national non-profit, Keep America Beautiful; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program and the College and University Recycling Coalition, with sponsorship support from The Coca Cola Company, Alcoa, Waste Management, SCA and the American Forest and Paper Association.

To learn more on such topics as conservation, re-use strategies, and other sustainable topics that can help you see how you can make a difference, visit www.fredonia.edu/gogreen.