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Go Green @ Miami: RecycleMania and CCN updates

02/27/2012

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David Smith and student recycling staff at the Feb. 23 Go Green event

Five weeks remain in the eight-week RecycleMania national collegiate recycling competition: after week two of the RecyleMania per capita classic competition, (most recent posted results) "Miami is in 114th place with 2.96 cumulative pounds per person recycled; we need to catch up to Ohio University, in 72nd place with 4.41 cumulative pounds per person recycled," said David Smith, environmental education and recycling coordinator. Miami and Ohio Universities founded the first RecycleMania competition in 2001.

The RecycleMania competition includes everyone on campus – students, faculty and staff. Smith encourages the Miami community to keep current with RecycleMania updates and other sustainability events at the Sustainability at Miami Facebook page.

Smith reports, based on Miami’s RecyleMania week two results:

Top recycling residence halls:
1. Wells: 4.93 pounds per student
2. Clawson: 3.88 pounds per student
3. Stoddard: 3.28 pounds per student
4. McCracken Hall: 3.24 pounds per student

Top recycling state and academic buildings:
1.Shriver Center: 17,250 pounds
2. King Library: 2,667 pounds
3. Roudebush Hall: 1,020 pounds
4. Campus Avenue Building: 946 pounds

There are many missed opportunities for recycling on campus, say Smith and Yvette Kline, director of sustainability and energy conservation: recent trash audits (see sidebar) show that about 30 percent of recyclables end up in the trash.

• Only items placed in the marked bins are recycled; refer to the “Recycle Right” flyer (below) for the types of bottles, cans, paper, and corrugated cardboard that can be recycled at Miami.

Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) competition: energy and water conservation

Miami is also participating in the Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) competition, a nationwide competition to see which residence hall can conserve the most water and electricity during a three-week period. According to Anthony Ferraro, energy management engineer, 20 of the 35 residence halls have reduced their electric usage and 13 of 35 have reduced their water usage, though final results are not yet available.

“Miami is going beyond just competing in Recylemania and the Campus Conservation Nationals, we're on the road to making sustainability a winning culture: one contest at time,” said David Prytherch, sustainability coordinator.

Go Green @ Miami Events

The Go Green @ Miami PlayBook lists a 10-week series of fun, free events at various dining centers highlighting “Actions of the Week” that students and others can take towards creating a culture of sustainability on campus.

Events include entertainment, information and prizes focusing on a different action each week and are held most Tuesdays, 5-7 p.m., through April 17.

“Even though CCN is just a three week contest, I’ve been keeping an eye on its dashboard to check for effects local to our Playbook events. The event themes during CCN were selected to focus on water and electricity conservation,” Kline said.

“We love to see people attend the events, to actually feel the heat of an incandescent vs. a cfl light, but for those who can’t make it, we’ve been posting some fun videos on the Sustainability at Miami Facebook page."

Related Media

Photos

Recycle Right Flier

Swoop with his Go Green PlayBook!

Trash audits: 30-50 percent of trash could be recycled

•Bachelor Hall Trash Audit, 2011: 30 percent of the trash could have been recycled: another 15-20 percent could have been recycled but was contaminated by coffee in cups. Missed opportunity: 45-50 percent of the trash could have been recycled.

• Harrison Hall Waste Sort, 2011: 17 percent sorted out of the trash was recyclable; another 15 percent could have been recycled but was contaminated. Missed opportunity: 32 percent of the trash could have been recycled.

• McBride Hall (residence hall) Waste Sort, 2011: 17 percent sorted out of the trash was recyclable; another 10 percent could have been recycled but was contaminated. Missed opportunity: 27 percent of the trash could have been recycled.