Starting on Monday, Feb. 4, the University of Mary Washington will join colleges and universities across the country in RecycleMania, an annual eight-week competition to reduce, reuse and recycle the most on-campus waste. More than 600 schools are participating this year, representing all 50 states as well as five Canadian provinces.
This year marks UMW’s fifth time in the Per Capita Classic Competition category, which measures the percentage of recycled materials per person on campus.
For the 
next eight weeks UMW’s recycling efforts will be monitored by members of the Ecology Club and RecycleMania volunteers. The entire campus community can participate by committing to green practices.
UMW’s year-round recycling categories of cardboard, mixed paper and co-mingled glass, aluminum and plastics will remain the same during the competition. More information about what can and cannot be recycled at UMW can be found at http://sustainability.umw.edu/recycling/.
Recycling receptacles at UMW offices are included in campus recycling. Faculty and staff are encouraged to verify that office recycling bins are properly labeled and to contact the Work Management System for bins and labels if needed.
Last year UMW won first place in Virginia and 18th in the overall competition by recycling 37.96 pounds of materials per person over eight weeks, which is equivalent to more than 200,000 pounds of recyclables kept out of landfills. The 182 metric tons of CO2 kept out of the atmosphere through recycling equaled the equivalent of taking 97 cars off the road.
“RecycleMania is about more than winning,” said Joni Wilson, director of landscape and grounds. “It is an opportunity for us to raise awareness about recycling programs and sustainability issues in general.”
Statistics and weekly recycling data will be published throughout the competition at http://recyclemaniacs.org/.
For more information about the sustainability efforts and programs at UMW, visit http://sustainability.umw.edu/ or contact sustainability@umw.edu.