How much does Kent State University recycle?

We have access to monitor our recycling and trash volumes during RecycleMania in February in March.

In 2018 Kent State RECYCLED 351,446 pounds during 8 weeks of RecycleMania and DECREASED the amount of trash generated from the previous year by over 250,000 pounds!

Our 2018 campus recycling rate (the amount recycled out of our trash + recycling waste streams) was 35%, double our recycling rate in 2012, and there are still opportunities to improve.  

While our 2017 recycling rate, 36%, is higher than both the 2017 national (25%) and  2017 state (29%) recycling rates, we know our recycling rate can be higher from campus waste audits. The top three recyclables ending up in our trash are: 1) plastic bottles; 2) paper; and 3) cardboard.

During 2017 RecycleMania Kent State generated less than a pound of waste per person per day (0.84 pounds) and of this 0.54 pounds of TRASH/person/day and 0.3 pounds of RECYCLING/person/day.

According to US EPA in 2017, 4.51 pounds of waste are generated per person per DAY and of this 1.13 pounds per person per day for recycling and 0.45 pounds per person per day for composting.