The University of Arkansas has begun its seventh endeavor to be the champions of RecycleMania, an annual competition for universities across the nation to reduce waste and increase recycling rates on their campuses. The 2014 RecycleMania competition will last eight weeks, beginning February 2nd and running through March 29th. Participating universities will be ranked based on how much they are able to decrease and redirect waste. This is a perfect time for staff and faculty to clean out their offices of unused and unwanted material.
Competitions: Competitions will last during the duration of RecycleMania (Feb. 2 – March 29).
- Residence Halls: The Residence Hall that recycles the most will win a Hydration Station for their hall.
- Registered Student Organizations: The RSO that recycles the most will win $350 and all participants will be entered in a raffle for $100 for every five points they gain during the competition. Sign up here. Last year’s competition collected over 1 ton of recyclables.
Drives: All drives are open to members of the campus community and will last from Feb.2 – March 29.
- Office for Sustainability (238 Harmon Ave) will collect books (textbooks, phonebooks, hard cover, paperback, fiction, non-fiction, you name it), discs (old CDs, DVDs, and video games), and plastic cards (used gift cards, metro cards, etc.). Please bring by your materials on weekdays from 8:00am – 4:30pm.
- The University Bookstore will be collecting electronic waste. This includes computers, laptops, printers, copiers, scanners, servers, cell phones, tablets, chargers, cords, and cables. Any electronics with fluid, CRT monitors and televisions, LCD monitors and televisions, and medical equipment will not be accepted. Visit the bookstore’s website for hours of operation.
The Office for Sustainability encourages all staff and faculty to clean out their offices and recycle any outdated files, books and other recyclables. Students are encouraged to do the same with last semester’s notes and books, and all are encouraged to place all recyclables (papers, cans, bottles, etc.) in a recycling bin. According to DoSomething.org, recycling just one aluminum can save enough energy to listen to a full album on your iPod. “Everyone needs to participate,” says Carlos Ochoa, director of the Office for Sustainability, “because it is about more than just winning the competition. This is about changing behavior.”
In 2011, the UA won in the categories of Waste Minimization and Grand Champion against its Southeastern Conference peers. If you would like to assist in these efforts and help the UA gain back its first place position, contact the Office for Sustainability RecycleMania team at sustain@uark.edu.