by Joy Esiemokhai
The University of West Georgia’s commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability is easy to see. In its efforts to ensure a greener campus, UWG has completed several milestones, such as the addition of the all-electric Nissan Leaf vehicle to its fleet and its Tree Campus USA designation.
In its latest efforts in the “green” vein, UWG is participating in the RecycleMania 2015 tournament, a national initiative that sees colleges all over the country try to collect the largest amount of recyclable waste in different categories. The competition, which began on February 2 and lasts through March 28, encourages college campuses to pursue and promote waste-reduction activities through friendly rivalry with other colleges across the nation. UWG’s stated objective throughout the eight-week long program is to “encourage our campus community to take a closer look at issues of waste production and waste diversion in conjunction with human consumerism and associated waste.”
The colleges participating in the competition can do so in two different divisions: the formal Competition Division and the less rigid Benchmark Division. Those in the Competition Division, such as UWG, are required to report the amount of waste that their campuses collect each week. This weekly total is then assigned to various categories, such as the Per Capita Classic, which considers the campus with the most waste recycled per capita, and the Grand Champion category, which determines the school with the highest recycling rate as a percentage of its overall waste generation.
Other categories include the Gorilla Prize, which is reserved for the school that recycles the most non-compostable waste overall, and the Waste Minimization category, encouraging schools that compete to see which produces the least amount of recyclables and trash per person. The winning schools in the different categories will be announced through a national press release and a statement on the RecycleMania website and will be presented with an award made out of recycled materials as well as the exclusive right of hosting that category’s traveling trophy for the next year.
According to the RecycleMania website, as of the fourth week of the program, UWG has collected 2.49 lbs. of waste in the Per Capita category and 29,292 lbs. of waste in the Gorilla category. UWG students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to contribute ideas to help the university take more steps toward a cleaner community during and beyond the competition. For more information on the competition or how to participate in any of UWG’s planned activities for the rest of the competition, please email gowestgogreen@gmail.com.
Participants can also use the hashtag #caughtgreenhanded on Twitter and other social media platforms to indicate their support for the RecycleMania initiative.
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