Beginning this week through March 29, 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 on-campus waste. More than 450 schools will participate this year, representing all 50 states and three Canadian provinces.
This year is UMW’s sixth time in the Per Capita Classic Competition category, which measures the percentage of recycled materials per person.
In 2013, UMW ranked first place within Virginia, and 12th overall in the competition category.
To earn first place, UMW recycled 37.544 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 carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere through recycling equaled the equivalent of taking 97 cars off the road.
“RecycleMania is a fun way to bring attention to campus recycling,” said Joni Wilson, director of landscape and grounds.
Throughout the competition, self-proclaimed “RecycleManiacs” will visit residence halls to collect recyclables and will recognize students and faculty for their recycling efforts on campus. On Thursday, March 6, UMW will hold its annual Shred Event starting at 10 a.m. in the William Street parking lot. Faculty, staff, students and members of the Fredericksburg community are invited to shred their confidential documents for free.
On Tuesday, March 11, UMW will use recycled bottle caps to create an 8-by-4-foot mosaic and plastic 2-liter bottles to create a community garden greenhouse on Ball Circle.
UMW’s year-round recycling categories of cardboard, mixed paper and co-mingled glass, aluminum and plastics will remain the same during the competition. Statistics and weekly recycling data will be published throughout the competition at http://recyclemaniacs.org/.