University gears up for Recyclemania

This year, the thrill of March Madness and the frenzy of spring fever will be wrapped up in one crazy national competition – Recyclemania! From February 8 to April 4, universities from across the country will compete for waste reduction and recycling honors.

Twenty of the 583 universities registered thus far, hail from North Carolina – making competition tough in the Tar Heel state. Awards are given to the top-scoring university in a number of competition categories. The university is entered into several categories, including least amount of waste per capita (including recyclables), and highest recycling rate.

The university enjoyed success during our rookie season in 2010. The university beat out Duke, UNC and the rest of the ACC schools in the waste reduction per capita category. This year, junior Erin Murphy is working hard as the Recyclemania intern to ensure that all members of the university community know how they can help achieve our Recyclemania goals.

“Our goal this year is to have fun,” Murphy simply said. To that end, she is working on two months of interactive programming chock-full of games and giveaways. Students, faculty and staff can pick up a reusable water bottle during the last Choose to Reuse Think Green Thursday event of the year to help reduce plastic bottle waste on campus. Students, staff, and faculty can also look forward to a greater discount at Starbucks during midterms, when they bring their own mug.

As the competition progresses, Recyclemania fans are encouraged to track collective waste reduction and recycling efforts online. Results are available each Friday on the Recyclemania web site.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the past, it’s that small changes make a difference in this competition,” Caitlin Brooks, Wake Forest Fellow, said.  So, whether you switch to a reusable bottle, or start recycling the sleeve of your coffee cup, know that every effort to reduce waste and increase recycling helps.

Get involved. Come to one or more of these great Recyclemania-themed Think Green Thursday events:

• Recyclemania Kick-off – Feb. 9 – Magnolia Patio
• Choose to Reuse – Feb. 16 – Magnolia Patio
• Waste Reduction at the Fresh Food Company – Feb. 23 – In front of the FFCo.
• Bring Your Own Mug (BYOM) give-away – March 4 – ZSR Library

We can’t win without you!

By Joey DeRosa, Communications and Outreach Intern