RecycleMania, a college recycling competition, is now in progress and calls for help from everyone on campus.
The international competition lasts for 10 weeks, Jan. 17 through March 27. During these weeks, the College’s recycling crew weighs recycling bins and trash bags on campus. The numbers are given to Burton Callicott, Sustainability Committee chair, who is in charge of recordkeeping for the competition at the College.
Institutions are judged in three ways: how much material is recycled, how much material is thrown away as waste and how many people attend the school. Weekly weight data is then posted on RecycleMania’s Web site along with school rankings.
“We hope this competition raises awareness around campus. We want students recycling everything they can, and thinking about the products they are using,” Callicott said.
While there are recycling bins located all around campus buildings, the committee has struggle to get the message of the competition around.
“The biggest hurdle to overcome now is communicating that the competition is going on,” Callicott said. “It would be great if professors could allow for RecycleMania to be advertised at the beginning or end of their class periods.”
Sophomore Skyler Harper and junior Courtney Martin say they have never heard of the contest, but they still are avid recyclers.
“I do recycle,” Harper said. “I separate boxes and bottles from everything else.”
Martin says she never used to recycle until a friend encouraged her.
“I have a friend who is big on environmentalism. I started recycling after I met him last year and now I recycle everything I can. My bins always overflow,” Martin said.
Even though RecycleMania only lasts for two months, Callicott wants students to remember to keep recycling.
“It is important to make a long-term change in behavior, not just stop recycling when the competition stops,” Callicott said.
Expanding from a two-school competition in Ohio to an international contest involving more than 600 colleges, RecycleMania has paved the way for more environmentally friendly campuses. One of the many goals for the program, according to the official Web site, is to “have the competition act as a catalyst for colleges and universities to build and expand waste reduction programs on campus.”
“Recycling is important for everyone, the whole human race. Would you want to leave your family behind with a big mess you created?” Martin said.
From the first year this program was implemented at C of C in 2008, the amount of recycled material has steadily risen, but it is still not enough to win. The College recycles about 10 to 12 percent of all waste, while the top five schools involved in the competition recycle 75 to 80 percent, according to Callicott.
Callicott is currently trying to start a more localized competition, involving The Citadel and Charleston Southern University.
“I think if we can have a smaller regional competition it will give us a chance to really compete with others,” Callicott said.
Students and staff can help the College move up in the RecycleMania rankings by recycling every chance they get with the many bins around campus.
To learn more about Recyclemania, and see the College’s current ranking, visit www.recyclemania.org.