Colorado State University Participating in Recyclemania Competition for the First Time

Colorado State University students are currently ranked fourth in the nation in RecycleMania, a national recycling competition that runs Jan. 30-April 9. Throughout the 10-week period, 48 schools compete to see which university can collect the largest amount of recyclables from residence halls, university apartments and dining centers.

The goals of the recycling competition are to increase recycling participation at competing universities, lower the waste being generated and heighten awareness of waste management and recycling programs

"We are excited about being in the RecycleMania competition," said Karyn Jarvis, chair of the Colorado State Recycling Committee. "This competition will demonstrate that Colorado State is doing its part to help conserve the environment as well as increase awareness of the recycling programs that are available on the Colorado State campus."

Colorado State has gained recognition for their sustainability efforts, including national recognition for its Wind Power Program, which was the first university in the nation to offer residents on campus the option to purchase wind power for their residence hall room or university apartment. About 2 percent of on-campus students have signed up for the program. This year, the goal of Colorado State Recycling Committee is to increase the enrollment of wind power to 10 percent of on-campus students.

Colorado State also has an active recycling program that was responsible for recycling 53.8 percent of the waste stream on campus in 2004.

Recyclables for the RecycleMania competition are measured in pounds per student, and each institution reports figures each week throughout the competition. Miami University was victorious in 2004 with 58.28 pounds recycled per student.

The winning school will be awarded the RecycleMania trophy and each school entered in the competition must place a one-page advertisement in their school newspaper to congratulate the winning school.

Colorado State will encourage on-campus residents to participate in the RecycleMania competition by hosting an internal competition among the 12 residence halls and four apartment villages. The winning hall and apartment village will be recognized at the Colorado State Earth Day celebration April 22 on the Lory Student Plaza on campus.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has partnered with RecycleMania coordinators to enhance the program by providing electronic reporting and a Web site to recruit more participants. The Web site can be viewed at www.recyclemaniacs.org.

For more information about the recycling competition, contact Karyn Jarvis at (970) 491-5812.    

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