MEADVILLE, Pa. – January 24, 2008 - Allegheny College will participate from January 27 to April 7 in an innovative national program, RecycleMania, which challenges colleges to reduce, reuse and recycle campus waste. Allegheny is participating in a segment of the 10-week challenge that focuses on minimizing waste.
The college's Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED) will collaborate with campus partners to head up the program to reduce campus waste. Plans call for a campus-wide program to reduce unwanted bulk mail from off-campus sources and to establish procedures for donating unwanted materials and equipment from campus renovations and/or surplus property.
In addition, RecyleMania partners on the Allegheny campus will work to institute programs to educate students and employees about minimizing waste, including collaborations with the offices of human resources and residence life to incorporate waste minimization information into new employee and new student orientation programs.
“Our participation in this national competition for waste minimization will serve several important purposes,” explained CEED director Amara Geffen, “including creating innovative programs to increase awareness about the relationship among consumer practices, waste production and climate change while also helping the college fulfill its commitments through the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which President Richard Cook signed last year.”
CEED has extended an invitation to the entire campus community to help the college succeed in reducing overall waste on campus.
“CEED is pleased to be able to take the lead in getting the college involved in RecycleMania,” said Geffen. “We invite the entire campus to step up to the plate to reduce, reuse and recycle. We appreciate the support of our campus partners in Physical Plant, St. Moritz Building Services and Residence Life and invite the community at large to help with this effort.”
Community members and organizations interested in working with CEED on RecycleMania efforts should contact the CEED office at ceed@allegheny.edu or by calling 332-2713.
In 2007 RecycleMania wrapped up its college recycling contest with over 41,370,000 pounds of recyclables recovered from over 200 colleges and universities across the country. The total amount of recyclables and organic materials recovered during that competition prevented the release of 15,583 metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE).
In real world terms, that reduction in green house gases is equivalent to eliminating the impact caused in a year by 12,367 passenger cars, electric generation to power 7,335 households or the consumption of 6,507,707 gallons of gasoline.
RecycleMania is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program and the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), coordinated as a project of NRC's College and University Recycling Council (CURC), and endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Program.
