An empty plastic Aquafina bottle, a stack of old papers from last semester’s classes and half of an uneaten burrito from Kelly Dining. What do all of these things have in common?
They are all materials that can easily be recycled as part of Stony Brook University’s participation in the RecycleMania competition. The contest, which runs for eight weeks during the spring semester, is a way to get students more involved and engaged in positive recycling habits.
“It’s a fair and friendly competition and we enjoy being a part of that because it’s really just a wonderful opportunity when working with the contest,” said Michael Youdelman, the Manager of Recycling and Resource Management, also the representative for Stony Brook. “It’s a portal for us to do outreach and it’s also an opportunity or a gateway to reinvigorate different areas around the campus like campus dining.”
This year, over 600 colleges and universities from all over the United States and Canada are participating in the contest, which started on February 5 and will run until March 31. During those eight weeks, campus representatives from each school are responsible for weighing and recording the amount of traditional materials being recycled every day. Those materials include mixed papers, bottles, cans, wasted food and, a new category this year, electronics.
All materials that are placed in proper recycling units are loaded onto trucks which are then weighed on a large scale. After subtracting the weight of the truck, the amount of recycled materials are then recorded and taken to proper recycling facilities.
“We utilize our own university truck scale, that’s certified so our numbers are real,” said Youdelman referring to other schools that rely on outside vendors in order to obtain measurements that might not be entirely accurate. “It’s a real advantage.”
Outside of the recycling component of the competition, another major element is getting students active and aware of the importance of recycling. Campus Residences have a huge part in that effort as resident assistants were asked to assemble bulletin boards in the lobby of every dorm building highlighting the importance of recycling and what students can do to help. The paper- and bottle-covered boards display signs informing students what can and cannot be recycled and giving further information about the competition. The boards were part of a competition among residence halls which was aimed at getting the student community involved as well.
“It’s an interesting way to get students involved other than just the normal, day to day telling someone to recycle,” said Casey Kurnath, an environmental studies major and student outreach coordinator at the university. “It’s an alternative method that gets people’s competitive side and their school spirit side going.”
Campus Dining also has a hand in the contest, as they are responsible for measuring and recording the amount of food that is being wasted at each dining location every day. The first set of results will not come in for another week since the first two weeks are primarily a trial period. Along with food waste management, Campus Dining also offers reusable cups and mugs that reduce the number of cardboard cups each student uses a day.
“Let’s say you were going twice a day, you get a cup, and you’re throwing that cup away,” said Youdelman. “Times that by 10,000 students who live on campus, [or the] 27,000 students attending. It adds up.”
All this week, student outreach coordinators were busy making sure offices throughout the campus had recycling bins. They also made students and faculty members aware of the new addition of e-waste recycling, as well as office clean-outs for paper and other recyclable materials.
In 2011, the RecycleMania competition managed to increase the total recycling rate among all participating schools from 24.37 percent to 27.79 percent during the course of the contest. Stony Brook University alone saw an 11.59 percent increase at the end of last year’s competition, a number organizers hope to beat this time around.
“We use RecycleMania as an opportunity to reinvigorate the recycling infrastructure,” Youdelman said. “We’re in the game, we’re competing and our hope is that more and more students, faculty and staff will become aware.”
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Mr. Najeeb Al Saleh, Chairman and Managing Director of Al Massaleh Real Estate.
