Kent State University is competing with nearly 200 colleges and universities during RecycleMania through April 1, to promote recycling and prevent waste from going into landfills.
RecycleMania is an eight-week competition during which colleges report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week. They are then ranked based on which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste, which schools recycle the most per capita and which schools have the least amount of trash and recycling combined.
In the last two years, Kent State was in the top 25 percent of schools in pounds recycled per capita, says Leah Graham, Kent State's outreach recycling coordinator.
“Kent State students never fail to impress us,” says Melanie Knowles, manager of sustainability at Kent State. “We’ve seen steady progress on recycling for years, and now we see their creativity in reducing waste and creative reuse as well. I’m eager to see the impact of team Kent State during RecycleMania and throughout the year.”
This year, Kent State’s RecycleMania goal is to get a 40 percent diversion rate, 4 percent higher than last year and more than double the amount from 2012.
Kent State will host internal competitions between residence halls and custodial areas, monthly competitions for students, faculty and staff to win prizes and two larger events to promote recycling.
“Kent State students are passionate about recycling and reducing waste,” Graham says. “Throughout the year, students reach out to us and make a difference in recovering campus resources. The monthly RecycleMania competitions on social media are for fun and a way to share ideas and successes.”
ShredMania from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on March 22 at the Kent State Ice Arena parking lot, will allow participants to recycle unwanted paper documents using a secured, onsite document destruction service. Materials permitted at ShredMania include documents, drawings, photos, blueprints, coupons, tickets, checks, magazines, spiral notebooks, hanging folders, paper bags and brochures.
E-Cycle drive takes place March 15 and 22, from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at door 6 of the Administrative Services Building loading dock. This event encourages participants to recycle old, unwanted electronics using Kent State’s electronic recycling vendor RET3. This drive includes just about anything with a cord: personal computers, laptop computers, servers and storage devices, monitors CRT and LCD, docking stations, floppy drives, DVD/CD burners, VCRs, circuit boards, scanners, copiers, printers, cables, wires, extension cords, digital cameras, cellular phones, DVD players, network and telecom equipment. Televisions will not be accepted.
This is the first year the College of Podiatric Medicine is competing in RecycleMania. Students, faculty and staff at the College of Podiatric Medicine can compete in monthly competitions for a chance to win raffle prizes.
Both events help contribute to Kent State’s standing in RecycleMania.