Green groups kick off RecycleMania

With RecycleMania 2010 about one week underway, the kick off event for the competition took place in Houston Hall on Monday.

Several sustainability-related organizations and projects — such as Green Campus Partnership and PennMOVES — showcased their causes and doled out recycling bins, magnets and reusable cups as students passed by on the way to class.

“We’re hoping to catch people as they come through,” Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Dan Garofalo said at the event.

“It’s a great turnout so far. We’ve gotten a lot of questions about sustainability and recycling,” he added.

The event also included the launch of a Penn Purchasing Services initiative, which will encourage Penn students and offices to recycle their writing instruments.

For every writing instrument that is turned in, two cents will go to the Penn Green Fund, according to Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger.

As another part of the festivities, PennMOVES presented a $30,000 check to the Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Established three years ago by Business Services, PennMOVES coordinates collection sites throughout campus where students can donate what they don’t want to take home with them, she explained.

Last year, according to Lea-Kruger, PennMOVES collected 90,000 pounds of furniture, clothing and food.

The group also held a sale in which it raised $30,000.

“We basically recycled 90,000 pounds that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. RecycleMania lasts from January to April, but recycling is something we do all year round,” Lea-Kruger said.

Penn Environmental Group On-Campus Committee Co-chair and College sophomore Ashima Sukhdev agreed that recycling should be a continuous effort.

“Recycling is the easiest and most effective thing students can do to get involved and make an impact,” she said.

“There’s a framework and a structure to do it, but it needs to be organized and publicized,” Sukhdey added.

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