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FutureVU: Sustainability

FutureVU: Sustainability

Help Vanderbilt catch Recyclemania on campus during February and March

Posted by on Thursday, January 27, 2011 in Events, News, Waste & Recycling.

[Originally published by Vanderbilt News Service in MyVU]

Vanderbilt will compete in Recyclemania for the first time this year. Recyclemania is a friendly competition among colleges and universities to determine who is the grand champion recycler. It begins Feb. 6 and ends April 2.

Students, faculty and staff can all help Vanderbilt win Recyclemania. Most buildings on campus have recycling containers located indoors near trash cans, and there are many receptacles located along campus walkways as well. Students in residential areas can use recycling containers conveniently located near their dumpsters.

Items that can be recycled here at Vanderbilt include plastics numbered 1 and 2, aluminum and steel cans, cardboard, and paper (any color, including magazines, newspapers, and paperboard). Glass generated on campus can also be recycled in the containers next to The Commons Center. The Sustainability and Environmental Management Office, (SEMO) will be monitoring recycling rates weekly and submitting them to the competition organizers.

Vanderbilt will compete in several categories:

  • Grand Champion: highest percentage of overall waste stream
  • Stephen K. Gaski Per Capita Classic: largest weight of materials per person
  • Waste Minimization: least amount of overall waste (recycling and trash) per person
  • Gorilla Prize: largest overall weight of recyclables
  • Targeted Materials: Schools recycling the largest per person weights of paper, cardboard, and cans and bottles

Last year’s Grand Champion (California State University, San Marcos) recycled 78.09% of their entire waste stream. Last year’s Gorilla Prize winners, Rutgers University, recycled 2,131,378 pounds of materials.

Recyclemania is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program. In 2009, 510 schools participated in the competition, recycling a total of 69.4 million pounds of materials.

For more information about the Recyclemania competition or recycling on campus (including how to recycle electronics, batteries, toner cartridges, CFL light bulbs, pens, and pencils), please see the SustainVU website or email recycle@vanderbilt.edu.

Show your Commodore spirit by recycling! Catch Recyclemania!

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