Pitt partakes in recycling program

‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt will battle Arizona for more than just the Super Bowl this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt is one… ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt will battle Arizona for more than just the Super Bowl this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt is one of an estimated 500 colleges’ competing in RecycleMania, a 10-week contest in which’ colleges and universities compete against each other to increase recycling and promote waste reduction activities on campus. ‘ ‘ ‘ The contest began this past weekend and will run through March 28. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt will compete for the first time this year since the event’s 2001 inception, although it has had a recycling program since 1990, said William Mitchell, campus coordinator for RecycleMania. ‘ ‘ ‘ Competing schools are separated into two divisions: a competition division and a benchmark division. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt has registered as a benchmark school, meaning it can track its weekly progress and have access to all RecycleMania resources, but will not be included in official rankings. ‘ ‘ ‘ Alec Cooley, a program manager for the RecycleMania national program, explained why Pitt chose to compete in the benchmark division. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The benchmark division was created to be more inclusive and let first-year participants dip their toes in the water,’ he said. ‘In the past, schools always competed in the competition division, but many don’t have the resources, to participate fully.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ By participating in the benchmark division, the University can ‘refine our programming and learn what we can do to enhance the current system. Benchmarking also will allow us to gain perspective on what we, as an organization, need to do to get better in regard to our internal processes,’ said Mitchell. ‘ ‘ ‘ Cooley said he thinks schools tend to be more successful with RecycleMania if they actually compete within the school itself. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Only a certain percentage of students will respond to Earth protection,’ he said. ‘But a certain percentage also has a built-in competitive spirit.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ By framing recycling and conservation in those terms, schools can raise awareness of recycling on campus, Cooley added. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt student and co-president of Free the Planet, Jessica McNally, said she has ‘high hopes’ for RecycleMania. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘This year, Facilities Management actually approached us about signing up for RecycleMania, which is incredibly enlightening. Usually we are the ones begging the University to adapt more sustainable practices.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Facilities Management will weigh and calculate the total amounts students recycle, and Free the Planet will focus on advertising and promoting the event, she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Our goal is to let students know that yes, we do recycle here at Pitt,’ said McNally. ‘ ‘ ‘ Free the Planet and Facilities Management have worked together to increase the amount of easily identifiable recycling receptacles. ‘ ‘ ‘ Over the weekend, bins’ were placed in dorms and fraternity houses to collect cardboard, paper, plastic, aluminum and glass refuse. ‘ ‘ ‘ The school to beat in RecycleMania is last year’s winner, Kalamazoo College, in Michigan. It won first place for overall amount recycled in the Grand Championship’ and the Per Capita Classic, for the amount recycled per student in 2008. ‘ ‘ ‘ RecycleMania winners were also selected based on six other categories, such as waste minimization and targeted materials, such as paper and plastic. ‘ ‘ ‘ Mitchell said he wants Pitt to focus on trying to win the Per Capita Classic. His goal is to recycle 15 pounds per resident student. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The establishment of this goal will help guide us into subsequent years and lead us into the competition stage of RecycleMania,’ said Mitchell. ‘ ‘ ‘ Students will have until March 28 to fulfill this goal and can check weekly updates at www.recyclemaniacs.org. ‘ ‘ ‘ Recycling coordinators from Miami and Ohio universities began RecycleMania,’ and it has grown to include 489 schools.