Trash to treasure: EPA pushes recycling

It's not often that Penn is called a "real underdog" at anything.

But those are the words members of the Penn Environmental Group use to talk about the University in next semester's RecycleMania, a 10-week contest sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, designed to promote waste reduction.

During the competition, which begins Jan. 27, Penn will compete with other schools to see who can recycle the most and throw away the least.

Penn, the last Ivy League school to join the annual competition, will have to undergo a "change of culture" to have a chance at winning, explained Wharton sophomore Laura Boudreau, a PEG member who is in charge of coordinating the University's efforts with administrators.

According to members of PEG, Penn recycles between 16 and 20 percent of its waste, a far cry from schools like California State University at San Marcos, last year's Grand Prize winner at RecycleMania, which recycled 60 percent of its waste.

PEG leaders say they think Penn has the capability to compete at that level, but note that doing so will require a campus-wide commitment to making simple tasks like recycling an everyday habit.

"It's incredible how much time and effort goes into getting people to change their lifestyles," Boudreau explained. "We need to get out that reducing your waste is the easiest thing you can do to live a sustainable lifestyle."

But students say recycling isn't as easy as it could be.

Wharton freshman Rebecca Levine said she would be more inclined to recycle if the facilities were more accessible.

"I don't know anyone in particular that recycles here," she said. "I don't here, but I do at home."

College freshman Anabel Lippincott said she feels "annoyed" at the lackadaisical attitude many of her neighbors in the Quadrangle have about recycling.

Still, PEG leaders note that laziness is a problem that can be fixed. According to the RecycleMania Web site, dining and residence halls can produce up to 70 percent of a campus' waste, so changing student habits is the most important step in improving Penn's waste-production standing.

To encourage students to reduce waste, the group is organizing a variety of interactive events and has already been involved in a Management 100 project that Boudreau calls a "test run for this spring" by comparing waste among College Houses.

Once the official competition is underway, though, the group plans to hold more events, including a raffle at Starbucks for students who choose to use their own mugs when buying coffee there.

Ultimately, they say their goal is not to win the competition, but to get people to make better choices about recycling.

"This is a 10-week competition that needs to last forever," Boudreau said.

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