RecycleMania spreads across campus

Looking to improve upon last year’s RecycleMania results, the New Paltz campus will be participating in a campus-wide effort for RecycleMania 2010, a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.

The program, which runs from Jan. 17-March 27, involves the collection and measurement of campus recycling and trash. Weight data and college rankings are then posted to the RecycleMania results page.

Brian Pine, director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance and the college’s recycling coordinator, said that last year only residence halls participated, but this year, with the help of Lauren Brois, the president for the New Paltz Recycling Club, they decided to enlist the entire campus as well.

"Participation is critical in ensuring the success of the competition," said Brois. "Everyone on campus is encouraged to recycle all they can, and please remember that paper orange juice cartons, coffee cups and products with food residue are not recyclable."

Other SUNY campuses that New Paltz will be competing against include: Albany; Binghamton; Buffalo; Fredonia; Geneseo; Brockport; Buffalo; and Stony Brook. Regionally, New Paltz will compete against Bard and Vassar colleges.

"RecycleMania is a great measuring tool to find out how much New Paltz can recycle per capita in comparison to other schools," said Brois. "Also, since the Residence Halls are competing against one another for the grand prize and winning title, there is more incentive for people to participate in recycling."

For more information about campus recycling, visit the greenthinking blog or become a fan of New Paltz Recycles on Facebook. For more information about RecycleMania 2010, visit www.recyclemania.org.