RecycleMania, a ten-week-long competition that encourages students and faculty to minimize waste, begins at Penn this month with kickoff events promoting sustainable living.
Throughout the contest, colleges in the United States and Canada race to achieve the least amount of trash per capita, the greatest amount of recyclables per capita, the overall greatest amount of recyclables and the highest recycling rate.
Through RecycleMania, the University is seeking to raise awareness about sustainable living practices, according to Penn Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Dan Garofalo.
To generate this awareness, RecycleMania features weekly promotions such as free beverages in Au Bon Pan and Bon Appetit cafes for customers who bring their own mugs.
Additionally, the Sustainability Team is coordinating events between this week and March 25 to garner publicity for eco-friendly living.
On Monday, Jan. 25, for example, the events will begin with a recycling bin giveaway and screening of No Impact Man.
Last year, within its “Ivy Plus” division — which includes most of the Ivies as well as colleges such as Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Penn achieved a 21.4-percent cumulative recycling rate.
This year, the Sustainability Team expects to yield Penn’s best outcome yet. Since RecycleMania 2009, Penn has accomplished a higher cumulative recycling rate at 23 percent, according to Facilities and Real Estate Services Executive Director of Operations Ken Ogawa.
With these numbers, he stressed, Penn still has much room for growth. Nevertheless, the incremental improvement shows that “steadily and surely, we’re getting there,” he added.
Moreover, the Sustainability Team has boosted RecycleMania’s visibility this year by relying more on partners within the Penn community.
Almost every school within the University has appointed sustainability coordinators, while student groups such as the Penn Environmental Group and College Houses’ Eco-Reps have joined the campaign as well, Sustainability Communications Associate Steve Belfiglio said.
Setting its sights high, the Sustainability Team has outlined a 30-percent waste-minimization goal for this year.
Throughout the coming weeks, the RecycleMania web site will publish both Penn’s and its competitors’ standings, so that Penn can benchmark its progress relative to that of other schools, he added.
According to Belfiglio, however, “the hope is, after the competition ends, there won’t be such a need to push for recycling anymore.”
He remarked that RecycleMania’s competitive nature will undoubtedly bolster the University’s efforts.
Sustainable living, Ogawa agreed, “is like taking a class. You’re supposed to study all the time, but you’re really going to study only if you know there’s going to be a test soon.”
And with RecycleMania 2010 already underway and stronger than ever, Garofalo emphasized, “the true test is coming up.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.