RecycleMania
What Is RecycleMania?
RecycleMania is a competition used as a benchmarking tool for colleges and universities. It's a chance for the schools to promote their waste reduction and recycling programs, as well as to track their recycling, trash data. Over 10 weeks, the data in several categories is gathered and compared. Schools are ranked according to who collects:
- The largest amount of recyclables per capita,
- The largest amount of total recyclables,
- The least amount of trash per capita, and
- The highest recycling rate.
What are the goals?
Clearly, we want to win! Well, maybe. There are other important goals too. RecycleMania.org officially lists the goals as:
- Have a fair and friendly recycling competition
- Increase recycling participation by students and staff
- Heighten awareness of schools' waste management and recycling programs
- Expand economic opportunities while addressing environmental issues in a positive way
- Lower waste generated on-campus by reducing, reusing, and recycling
- Have the competition act as a catalyst for colleges and universities to build and expand waste reduction programs on campus.
They are all valid goals and this year at PSU we are really focusing our efforts onto #3, #5, and #6. Of course, all while increasing our recycling, maximizing our outreach to students and staff, and winning!
Why?
Recyclemania provides a tool for campus coordinators, green teams, and staff to engage their community in waste reduction and recycling - in a fun and different way. Sometimes, you just need a different lens through which to view an everyday problem - and what better way than thinking about waste reduction and recycling than as a friendly competition! And it works: past surveys have indicated that 80% of schools who participated saw a noticeable increase in recycling collection during RecycleMania.
