Ready. Set. Recycle. The competition has begun, and it's the lowest scoring campus who will own the bragging rights for 2010. Going head to head for the first time ever, with over 600 competing colleges, UW- Green Bay is participating in Recycle Mania. This 10-week program runs from Jan. 17-March 27 and encourages students to take on the challenge to be more sustainable throughout their campus. "Recycle Mania is a competition between campuses to minimize waste," said Kevin Fermanich, associate professor of natural and applied sciences. "It's a great opportunity to really engage the entire campus." According to RecycleManiacs, having a fair competition, increasing participation, heightening awareness, expanding economic opportunities, reducing waste and acting as a link for campuses to connect are the primary goals of this competition. There are five categories in the competition, including Grand Champion, Stephen K. Gaski Per Capita Classic, Gorilla Prize, Targeted Materials and Waste Minimization. All five work towards different goals, like reducing waste, highest recycling rate, and largest amount of total recyclables. Waste minimization is the primary focus of UWGB's participation. Within this category, schools compete for the lowest municipal solid waste per person. How the program works is simple, Waste Management gathers the waste on campus and calculates the data. The amount of waste collected will factor in the number of bodies creating the waste and then calculate this into waste per person. "Colleges and universities are small cities that consume large amounts of resources and generate much solid waste," said RecycleManiacs. "Participation in the competition familiarizes students with a campus's environmental programs and hopefully instills in them a life-long habit." According to Fermanich, the UW system promotes this program to all campuses. Within the UW system itself, 12 campuses are participating: Fox Valley, Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Stout and Whitewater. Other Wisconsin colleges include College of Menominee Nation, Fox Valley Technical College, Lawrence University, Northland College, Saint Norbert College and Western Wisconsin Technical College. "One thing a lot of campuses are trying to do is minimize paper use," Fermanich said. "About 120 thousand pounds of paper waste was used in 2008 at UWGB." This is the first year UWGB is participating in this competition, and the results will give the campus a benchmark standing. "As a result of this competition, we will know how much waste we generate and perhaps find some areas for improvement," said Molly Collard, graduate student in environmental policy and planning. Participation in this program is minimal. Students are encouraged to think more about the every-day choices they make regarding consumption. These choices may be as simple as whether or not to print double sided or use less paper, or bringing a reusable mug to class rather than using up paper cups provided. It is by paying closer attention to what materials they throw away that students help our school in the competition. "We have limited resources, so we need to use them in the most efficient way," said Laura Hunt, freshman environmental policy and planning major. These daily acts of consciousness are what the competition is calling for. Also, RecycleMania connects back to our campus, since UWGB's common theme for this school year is "Realizing our Sustainable Future." "UWGB was founded on environmental principles and was once known as Eco U," Collard said. "This competition is a great way to show we are still striving to live up to the founding mission of our campus."
RecycleManiacs storm campus as part of nationwide sustainability competition
Published: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Updated: Monday, August 30, 2010 17:08
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