Recycle responsibly, urges contest

The College at Brockport is among more than 380 colleges nationwide competing in the 9th annual 10-week recycling and waste-minimization competition called RecycleMania, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Increasing student awareness and involvement in on-campus recycling and waste reduction are among Recyclemania's goals. Several SUNY schools are competing for top prizes, as well as other area colleges including Robert's Weselyan, the University of Rochester and St. John Fisher. The competition's two-week trial period began Jan.18. RecycleMania is made up of four primary competitions. Brockport entered the waste minimization category, in which schools compete to see which produces the least amount of municipal solid waste per person, which includes both recyclables and trash. This meta-competition emphasizes overall waste reduction instead of recycling. It also stresses personal responsibility and accountability.

"It's all about individual daily choices," Hilary Mosher, chairperson of Brockport's Sustainability Task Force (STF), said. "Small, individual actions make a big difference."

STF is a newly-developed interdisciplinary task force designed to increase sustainability on campus thereby reducing Brockport's carbon footprint. It is coordinating Brockport's RecycleMania efforts in cooperation with the Facilities and Planning department. The individual actions Mosher refers to include using the online Angel system for assigned readings, recycling more and in the correct bins, using refillable coffee-mugs, refilling water bottles and purchasing only what you need.

RecycleMania is supported by the EPA's WasteWise program, which targets the reduction of municipal solid waste and select industrial waste in businesses, local governments and non-profit organizations.

Last year, the contest diverted 41.3 million pounds of recycled material from landfilling. Weekly totals for the 2009 contest, as well as results from all previous years, are posted on the RecycleMania Web site at http://www.RecycleMania.org and at Brockport's Green Campus Initiative Web site at http://www.brockport.edu/gci.