University News

RecycleMania 2017

January 25, 2017

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MACOMB, IL -- Did you know* ...

• A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days. And, there is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can be recycled.

• Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator.

• Each ton (2,000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water. This represents a 64 percent energy savings, a 58 percent water savings and 60 pounds less of air pollution.

Join the recycling revolution at Western Illinois University, where for the 10th consecutive year, WIU is participating in RecycleMania, a national competition between colleges and universities across the nation. This year's competition, which began Jan. 22, runs through April 1.

Last year, WIU diverted 90,060 pounds of recyclable materials and 5,133 pounds of organic/food scrap waste was composted during the eight-week competition. he goal of RecycleMania is to raise awareness of the importance of recycling, according to Amy Mossman, co-chair of the WIU Sustainability Committee. More than 345 colleges and universities participated in the 2016 event, resulting in 79.3 million pounds of total recycling and food waste diverted from the landfill.

During the contest, schools report recycling and trash data, and then are ranked according to which institution collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita or has the highest recycling rate. With each week's reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more.

"Our goal, not only during Recyclemania, but every day includes reducing the amount of waste, while increasing our recycling weights, on campus," added Scott Coker, committee co-chair. "We'd also like to thank Waste Management for adjusting their schedule during the competition so we can get accurate collection data."

At WIU, anything recyclable can be placed in the blue bins throughout campus as the University has a mixed recycling system. All paper products, corrugated cardboard and paperboard/chipboard, plastics (numbers 1-7, except styrofoam), aluminum and tin can be placed in the blue bins. In addition to the blue bins that collect daily recyclables, Western also recycles numerous items, including wood pallets, light bulbs and construction materials. Batteries are also recycled, and each building representative has a battery recycling bin in his/her office.

Each week during RecycleMania, staff from Western's Facilities Management will collect and record the amount of recyclables from each building on campus. Schools can then check their standings online.

RecycleMania began in February 2001, when Ed Newman from Ohio University and Stacy Edmonds Wheeler from Miami University decided something had to be done to increase recycling in the residence and dining halls on their campuses. During the inaugural 10-week competition, Miami University and Ohio University battled to see which school could recycle the most. Western has participated in RecycleMania since 2006.

To learn even more about environmentalism and sustainability, visit wiu.edu/sustainability and click on "Recycling at Western." For more about RecycleMania, visit RecycleMania.org.
* From recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html


Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing