Look where you’re throwing
Help SMU score high in the national RecycleMania contest through April 2.
By Denise Gee
SMU News
DALLAS (SMU) — Everyone’s trash — in the form of paper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboard—will be SMU’s treasure during the national RecycleMania contest Jan. 23–April 2.
SMU will collect and track recycling materials throughout the 10-week competition involving hundreds of U.S. colleges and universities. That data will then be ranked according to the largest amount of recyclables per capita, largest amount of total recyclables and highest recycling rate.
How can those on the SMU campus help SMU rise high in the RecycleMania ranks?
It’s simple: Sort things out.
“It’s especially important that we place anything that can be recycled [other than corrugated cardboard] either in blue bins or trash cans lined with clear bags,” said Eric English, SMU’s environmental manager. “Corrugated cardboard is an exception: It should be collected by each building’s custodians, who will help get it compacted or baled. Traditional garbage should go in a trash bin’s black bag.”
Last year, SMU collected 77.59 tons of recycled material, and placed fifth out of 21 competing Texas universities in the Per Capita Classic division (ahead of Rice, Baylor, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas and Texas A&M). Overall, SMU finished 107 out of 346 schools in the Per Capita Classic Single-Stream (paper, cans and bottles) division and 151 out of 231 in the Targeted Materials (corrugated cardboard) division.
“SMU is known for its commitment to excellence,” English says. “This is one way to prove what we can do on the sustainability front.”
To learn more about or volunteer for SMU recycle programs, sustainability initiatives and how RecycleMania works, contact English at 214-768-2163 or eenglish@smu.edu.
Also, check out these sites:
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