Next time you finish a refreshing bottle of soda, think twice before tossing that plastic bottle into the garbage can. Beginning Jan. 27, the University will participate for a third-consecutive year in Recyclemania 2008, a 10-week national competition between more than 285 colleges and universities to see which campus has the best recycling rates.
Schools will compete to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables and the least amount of trash per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables and the highest recycling rate.
Each week, the University's facilities department will collect, tally and report the information about the amount of recyclables collected.
"[Recyclemania] is just one way to prove to folks across the nation that Rutgers understands sustainability and understands our role in helping the environment," said Magda Comeau, a senior compliance coordinator at the University. "Recycling is an easy way to make a big impact."
As a part of Recyclemania, which began in 2001, students must make an effort to minimize waste and boost the recycling rate at the University.
New Jersey Public Interest and Research Group Student Chapters board chair, Sarah Clader, a Rutgers College senior, said events like Recyclemania help encourage students to become energy efficient.
"Since we are still young, we are going to have to eventually deal with all the damage we are doing to the earth, and doing such simple things as recycling can help for the future," Clader said.
The process is really simple, Comeau said. Students are expected to recycle.
"For instance, if you have a bottle of soda, rather than just trash it, wait to find a recycling can," she said. "That's all you have to do."
Dianne Gravatt, director of Environmental Service and Grounds for Facilities Maintenance Services, said more than 65 percent of waste at the University are recyclables, and Recyclemania is a way to make sure those recyclables are being disposed of correctly.
It's important to be concerned about what happens to our waste and how it impacts the environment. It's a small piece of a big picture, Comeau said.
"This is just one way to prove to folks across the nation that Rutgers understands sustainability and understands our role in helping the environment," Comeau said. "Recycling is an easy way to make a big impact."
After the University's first year of involvement in the competition, a discovery about residence hall recycling was made.
"We found that in the dorms, students were not recycling the way they should be," Gravatt said. "The students weren't sorting their waste, [and] 20 percent of the waste stream was recyclables. The students weren't sorting their waste."
"With the help of the housing facilities, student awareness and involvement, there was a 5 percent increase in recyclables last year," Gravatt said.
Now recycling in residence halls has become easier with the placement of individual waste receptacles marked "Trash, Paper, and Bottles and Cans," located in each building and room.
"The [resident assistants] clearly explained the purpose of the three different trash cans in the beginning of the year," said Justin Callahan, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student. "Most people are respectful of it and put everything where it should be."
Many students also find that the separate cans have made recycling an easier task.
"It's pretty effective because I never recycled before, but now that I have the three separate cans, it makes it a lot easier to do so," Callahan said.
This is the third year that the University is involved in Recyclemania. The combined efforts of students and faculty led to the success in last year's competition.
"We have the support of so many people in so many different departments," Comeau said. "It's exciting to see such support across the board."
In last year's competition, the University won the Gorilla Prize, an award for the highest gross tonnage of recyclables, and with 2.7 million pounds, the University placed first in the amount of food service organics recycled per person.
The University was also one of the top five winners in the majority of the competition's categories.
"Last year, we blew folks away and I know we're going to do it again," Comeau said.
The Grand Champion prize goes to the campus that has the greatest achievement in overall source reduction and recycling. Last year, the University placed second in this category to California State University-San Marcos, but many people are optimistic about this year's competition.
"Cal State has held the first place title for a few years and this year, we want to win it," Comeau said. "We also want to keep first place in the Gorilla Prize and the Food Service Organics award. First place in all categories would be our super-goal."
Douglass College senior Idamar Eeydy said she believes the University has been doing much better than previous years in getting students to recycle.
Unlike last year's successful finish, in the 2006 competition, the University was placed in 35th, she said.
"Before [the University] did really badly in Recyclemania, and it was almost to the point of it being a disgrace," Eeydy said. "But last year, we stepped up our game and hopefully will do just as good this year and maybe get first place this time."
There will be a kickoff event hosted by the Student Environmental Association at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24 in the G.H. Cook room of the Cook Campus Center. The competition begins Jan. 27 and will end April 5. Each week, students can access information about the University's progress in the competition by visiting www.facilities.rutgers.edu and following the link to Recyclemania information.
- M. Aasin Pena
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