RecycleMania, a 10-week intercollegiate recycling competition, begins this week at Binghamton University.
The competition began on Jan. 17 with a two-week trial period that does not count toward the final rankings. The competition continues in full force this week as the first week of the true competition begins.
According to the RecycleMania Web site, in the first week of the trial period, BU had a recycling rate of about 50 percent, up from about 41 percent for the same period in the competition last year.
Last year, BU was the New York State Grand Champion, placing 23rd — compared to SUNY Albany who placed at 154 — in the National Grand Champion category.
BU is one of 587 schools registered in this year’s competition, and currently ranks 23rd in the nation for the 2010 competition in the National Grand Champion category.
“Last year Binghamton was third in the nation for cans, bottles and compost, outranking almost all of the state schools in compost,” Juliet Berling, environmental resource manager at BU, said. “I have a feeling we’ll surpass them this year.”
The ranks are based on which schools collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita, collect the largest amount of total recyclables, have the least amount of trash per capita or have the highest recycling rate.
The Grand Champion category combines trash and core recyclable materials to determine a school’s recycling rate as a percentage of its overall waste generation.
According to Berling, BU collects between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds of compost and recycling per day, six days per week.
Colleges and universities consume large amounts of resources and generate a plethora of solid waste and, according to the organization’s Web site, RecycleMania provides a tool for campus recycling coordinators, student green teams and facility service professionals to engage their campus community in recycling and waste reduction in a fun and friendly way.
James Van Voorst, vice president for administration, praised the program for what it does for campuses.
“RecycleMania is a great way to build awareness and get everyone on our campus involved in this friendly competition,” he said. “Binghamton University works very hard on environmental efforts and our long-term goal is to have a zero carbon footprint.”
He added that RecycleMania offers an opportunity to work towards sustainability in a direct and immediate way.
“While we have a broad range of sustainability programs and activities in place, recycling is a significant and daily way in which we can all participate in these efforts,” Van Voorst said.
The RecycleMania organization is currently looking for a student-designed logo for T-shirts and the all-white recycling trucks that drive around campus.
More information is available on www.recyclemania.org.