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What started out as a simple means to encourage better recycling practices on their campuses, Ed Newman of the Ohio State University and Stacy Edmonds Wheeler of Miami University (Ohio) decided to begin an all out recycling competition between their rivaling schools.
In February of 2001, they began Recycle Mania, an organization supported by the National Recycling Coalition (NRC). For 3 years, the NRC and the College and University Recycling Council (CURC), which is a network of campus-based recycling professionals, have provided assistance to this program.
Even though Recycle Mania is in a competition format, Alec Cooley, Collegiate Programs Manager and Liaison to the CURC, said with determination, “The purpose is to reach out and engage colleges on the recycling message.” He went on to describe the work Recycle Mania is doing as “students, getting engaged.”
The ten week competition is to see which school can recycle the largest volume, in pounds, during that time frame. Even though Miami University would become the first winner back in 2001, our planet would be the true beneficiary from their combined efforts.
Since that inaugural competition, 514 schools have registered with the program. Pennsylvania alone has 49 participating schools, which include the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Temple University, just to name a few.
The Temple Owls started campaigning for the green event with a bang. On January 28, members of the Students for Environmental Action, Students for Responsible Business, and the Philadelphia Streets Department Recycling Unit gathered at the Student Center atrium.
“Recycling is really, for many people, the face of environmental issues,” said Sandra McDade, director of the Office of Sustainability, in an article by Temple News writer Erika Ransom.
International Universities are also catching on. There are five Canadian Universities currently participating in Recycle Mania, including the University of Ottawa and the University of New Brunswick. The program even stretches as far as India, whose own Rajarambapu Institute of Technology has joined in on the fun.
Recycle Mania has astonishingly strong results; a combined 1.7 million pounds were recycled in 2003. However, that respectable number was blown out of the water this past year, when 58.6 million pounds of trash was recycled.
Even though the 2009 campaign began on January 18 and ends shortly on March 28, the first two-weeks are not counted. The organization does this every year to allow new participants to grow accustomed to the bi-weekly counting system.
If your school isn't participating, take the initiative and find out what your school’s role is as a Recycling Maniac.
Students, get engaged!!
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For more information on how to get your school involved, visit Recycle Mania!. But for those environmentalists out there in the real world, take a look at some steps for setting up an Office Paper Recycling Program. And lastly, for some tips and suggestions on how to make your whole life more sustainable, check out GREENandSAVE’s section on a Green Lifestyle.
