By George Eckhardt, Facilities Services
Colorado College is making news in the current 2010 Recyclemania Competition, the second year of participation; some good and some not-so-good news. Recyclemania began on January 17 and runs for 10 weeks through March 27. The college is participating in three categories of the competition: Grand Champion, Per Capita Classic, and Waste Minimization. At this moment, CC is running 24th overall in recycling rate, second in recycling pounds per person, and a lowly 179th in total waste generation pounds per person.
Last year, the college ended up 24th out of a field of 234 in the Grand Champion division with a 46.01 percent recycling rate, compared to our current competition standing of 24th with a 47.88 percent recycling rate. In the Per Capita Classic last year, the college was 12th with 41.75 cumulative pounds per person recycle rate, compared to our current outstanding ranking of second out of 305 with 8.5 pounds recycled per person. In the Waste Minimization category, Colorado College did not fare well last year, finishing 130th out of 148 with 90.75 cumulative pounds of trash per person. This year, the college is currently running 179th out of 185 with 17.64 cumulative pounds per person. There are reports from the grounds department that early morning visitors are “donating” trash and recycle materials to college trash and recycle areas. This could account for our less than stellar numbers for overall waste generation. Being a mostly residential campus may also contribute to higher waste generation.
Competition updates can be seen by typing in www.recyclemania.org/ , and clicking on results page.
For more information about Recyclemania, go to: http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/doc/publicity/prop_presentationAP.ppt
