PSU Going Green: RecycleMania 2014

RecycleMania is back! This is PSU's 6^th year participating in the National Recycling Competition between colleges and universities. The competition runs from Feb. 3 - Mar. 30 throughout campus PSU hopes to demonstrate that it's one of the most sustainable campuses in New Hampshire by recycling more waste than other universities and colleges. 

In the first week of the 10-week competition,  all members of the campus community are encouraged to make an extra effort to recycle. The weight of co-mingled recycling and trash collected each week will be recorded, and then entered into the national RecycleMania competition. Physical Plant and the Office of Environmental Sustainability collaborate to promote the competition, do the hard work of collecting the recyclables, and report the data.

PSU participates in the Gorilla Prize, Waste Minimization, Grand Champion, and Per Capita Classic categories of the competition. In the Gorilla Prize competition, the school with the highest gross tonnage of recyclables wins. The Waste Minimization category focuses on the efforts to reduce waste generated by determining which school produces the least amount of waste, including both trash and recyclables, on a per-person basis. In the Grand Champion category the amount of recycling produced at PSU is divided by the total weight of the trash and recycling we produce to determine the school's recycling rate. In the Per Capita Classic schools compete to see who can collect the most recycling on a per person basis. 

The winners of this competition will receive national recognition as well as the satisfaction of helping live in a more sustainable society. Last year PSU's recycling totals declined slightly from previous years, but with more awareness and consciousness, it can improve.  So, start recycling! 

It's easy for students to help. Simply take recyclables to the recycling bins. There are large bins in all of the Resident Halls and campus buildings to make doing the right thing as easy as possible. Cardboard to can simply be flattened and placed behind recycling bins. Finally, be sure to only recyclable materials without waste in them. Contamination with waste can result in processing plants rejecting recyclable materials. 

If everyone on campus does the simple task of recycling it will add up fast. The more people that participate, the better PSU's numbers and rank will be. If that happens, green will be more than just PSU's school color.