National recycling competion challenges students
University will participate in Recyclemania 2008 for the third consecutive year, hoping for another award winning run
Kate Calabro / Staff Writer
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: University
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.
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.