The Stylus

Issue date: 2/10/10 Section: News

The College at Brockport is competing against other State University of New York schools, as well as hundreds of colleges and universities across the country in a ten-week competition known as RecycleMania. All Brockport students, faculty and staff are encouraged to recycle and minimize waste more than ever.

"Clearly we see results that show RecycleMania spurs environmental awareness," said Ed Skernolis, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition.

RecycleMania is a ten week competition, which began Jan. 17 and includes 607 schools across the country. Several SUNY schools, including Cortland, Buffalo, Fredonia, Geneseo and Binghamton, will be competing for the highest recycling rate.

RecycleMania began in 2001 with a rivalry between Ohio University and Miami University. The number of participating schools has steadily increased ever since.

The competition now includes hundreds of schools and millions of participants, all competing in eight categories to see who can recycle the most.

The competition last year included nearly six million students, faculty and staff from 510 schools who collected about 69.7 million pounds of recycled waste.

"I think we're more apt to recycle now because the effects of global warming and depleting natural resources will soon be upon us," Brockport student Elise Micale said.

Aside from saving the planet, there are other rewards for taking part in RecycleMania. Students who are seen recycling, minimizing waste in the dining halls, using a refillable mug or water bottle, or engaging in other environmental-friendly practices may be awarded prizes.

In addition, random dorm rooms that leave their recycling bin out every week will be awarded prizes and the residence hall that has the best overall recycling rate will be awarded a grand prize.

"We take our recycling bin out each week," Brockport student Emily Kellas said. "We wait until our recycling bin is full, then we take it to the garbage room and sort it all out."

There are many simple steps students can take to help Brockport win, such as using a water bottle and water purifier to save on the waste and cost of bottled water. To further help the schools' efforts, students can also shop with reusable tote bags, reuse paper and office supplies whenever possible and try not to take too much food in the dining hall to minimize food waste.

These steps will not only help the environment, but also help your wallet by saving on the cost of bottled water, paper, office supplies and wasted food.

Kellas and Micale said they always go tray-less in the dining halls and Micale won Brockport's Tray-less Challenge for herenvironmentally-friendly dining practices.

According to www.recyclemania.org, to meet its recycling goals, Brockport has pledged to implement several waste reduction practices, such as replacing paper documents with online alternatives, purchasing office equipment with waste prevention in mind and offering discounts and other incentives for using reusable mugs in campus dining operation.

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