As part of a national competition, UGA is trying to recycle more than any other college or university. To that end, the university is tracking its weekly volume of trash and recyclables, trying to keep the most amount of materials out of the local landfill.
Recyclemania is a 10-week competition that runs through March 28. It aims to foster recycling habits through friendly competition. It pits colleges and universities from across the nation against each other to see who can recycle the most, who recycles the most per person and who does the best at waste minimization.
Last year was the first year UGA participated, when it won third place in the gorilla recycling category, which measured gross tonnage of recycling.
“This year we’re going to enter again and hopefully do even better,” said Andrew Lentini, recycling coordinator at the Physical Plant.
Last year, the competition was geared toward student recycling. This year at UGA the contest has been extended to faculty, staff and all of campus.
UGA is actually recycling more than last year—one ton more per week, according to Lentini. In fact, at the competition’s midpoint UGA had recycled 30,000 more pounds, or 15 tons, of materials.
“We’re doing a good job, but if everybody was a cheerleader for recycling, we’d be in so much better shape,” he said.
On March 12, the Physical Plant will hold “Clean Out Your Files Day” for faculty and staff. Extra trucks will be available to pick up paper.
“It’s a great time to clean out your files and recycle old documents—especially ones that you’ve been meaning to get rid of for a while,” said Lentini.
On March 19, a nine-hour sustainability event is planned for Legion Field. From 2–8 p.m. there will be informational tables and demonstrations. Seven different bands will perform a free concert from 4–11 p.m.
In addition to paper, UGA recycles cardboard, rechargeable batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and ink jet cartridges.
There are bottle and can recycling bins scattered throughout campus, in most buildings and even new portable bins available for special events.
“Just e-mail me (alentini@uga.edu), and I’ll send portable bins to your event,” Lentini said. “There’s no charge.
“Encourage others to recycle—especially if you see paper in a trash can,” he said. “We can’t let the University of Florida beat us.”
