MSU students are invited to help Morehead State win the top spot in a national campus recycling competition.
Recyclemania begins Sunday, Feb.3, and continues through Saturday, March 30. Participating colleges and universities will measure the amount of recyclables and trash collected on their campuses each week, and will be ranked based on the weight of recyclables and trash collected, how much their recycling rates have improved over a two-year period and the amount of food waste reported.
Items that can be recycled include:
Plastic #1
Plastic #2
Cans
Cardboard
Paper
Grocery bags
Shrink wrap
All recyclables should be clean before they are placed into recycling bins, located in residence halls, classroom buildings and locations across campus.
MSU Sustainability Committee Chair Holly Niehoff said MSU faces some challenges in the competition but stressed the point of Recyclemania is to raise awareness.
“Part of the problem has been the time of year of Recyclemania. During the colder months from February to late March, we have less recycling participation and less pickups. We also have spring break so that always makes our weights a lot lower,” Niehoff said. “Raising awareness is really our reason for participating because we cannot compete with schools that can go zero waste or that have the capability of recycling more types of plastics and other wastes.”
Recyclemania includes colleges and universities in the United States and Canada and was established to raise awareness about recycling and promote waste reduction efforts on college campuses. Competing schools are ranked weekly during the eight-week competition, with the winning schools in each category earning national recognition. Morehead State started participating in the annual competition in 2015.
“Recyclemania offers a great opportunity to practice good stewardship in a fun and exciting way and under a national spotlight,” Niehoff added. “We have perfectly good material passing through our hands and into trashcans every day. Recyclemania is a playful reminder to sustainably support our community and to keep things of value out of our local landfill.”
For more information about Recyclemania, contact Hannah Tolliver, hall director, at h.tolliver@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2060.
For more information about sustainability, recycling, and environmental efforts on campus, visit the Earthwise Eagles website at http://www.moreheadstate.edu/earthwise or call 606-783-2584.
