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The Indiana Daily Student

IU-Bloomington wins Most Improved in 2016 RecycleMania contest

IU-Bloomington won the Most Improved category for the 2016 RecycleMania contest this semester.

RecycleMania, a national contest to raise awareness of on-campus waste production, allowed more than 200 universities this year to weigh waste and recycling materials over eight weeks in its competition division.

“The number one goal is raising awareness of waste minimum through recycling and reusability,” said Steve Akers, the associate director of Residential Programs and Services’ Environmental 
Operations.

The competition, which lasted from Feb. 7 to April 2, encourages universities to reduce waste production and generate support for on-campus recycling programs.

In its seventh year competing in the RecycleMania competition, IU recycled a gross tonnage of more than half a million pounds. This weight is compared in a “Gorilla” category of the competition in which IU ranked 35.

IU came in 122 for pounds per capita recycled, weighing in at a little more than 10.7 pounds per student, and placed 157 overall in the competition for its recycling rate of 23 percent calculated as a percentage of overall waste generation.

Akers said he is optimistic IU is heading in the right direction with its recycling efforts. He said a goal has been set to reach a 40-percent recycling rate by 2020.

“We still have some work to do to get to that goal and to do that,” Akers said. “It’s really about educating students and residents and staff, and everybody needs to be on the same page about where they’re placing their 
recycling.”

In years past, the University has struggled in the competition, usually ranking somewhere between 100 and 200. This year, IU won the Most Improved Category in the first year the distinction was awarded, with an 89-percent increase in its recycling rate compared to last year’s results in the contest.

Akers said for this year’s contest, the Residence Hall Association, IU Athletics’ Greening Cream and Crimson and the Office of Sustainability partnered to bring awareness to proper recycling methods and educate students on how they can live more sustainably.

“It took a lot of work and a lot of communication among staff,” Akers said.

The groups increased food waste and recycling collection from five to 10 sites on campus this year, tabled at a women’s basketball game and put on recycling blitzes in residence halls, teaching students how and what to recycle.

Bruna Oliveira, a No Waste intern in the IU Office of Sustainability, said while she was happy to see IU’s progress in recyclability rates, she was concerned that IU’s overall rate of waste production also increased during the time of the RecycleMania contest.

Akers said an increase in food waste is likely because Environmental Operations has doubled the number of sites it collects from, now collecting around 5,000 pounds of waste each week.

Oliveira said at the recycling blitzes in residence halls, many students were unaware plates and utensils — even some that were slightly dirty — could be 
recycled.

“I hope people learn recycling is easy and important and can be incorporated into everyday life,” Oliveira said.

Akers said more than 13,000 bottles of Dasani water are sold each week in RPS dining facilities. This does not account for other beverages or bottles purchased in non-RPS facilities, such as the Indiana Memorial Union or vending machines.

“If we’re going to sell that quantity, we really need to be deliberate about making sure that those bottles end up in the proper stream, which is the plastic recycling,” Akers said.

RPS is considering implementing discounts next year for coffee and tea purchased by those using reusable cups, Olveira said. RPS may also begin offering reusable bags for shopping in on-campus convenience stores.

On Friday, a Flower Power event in Dunn Meadow will feature a D.J., free Laughing Planet burritos and a sculpture made of plastic water bottles to help visualize the importance of recycling. Attendees will be provided gloves and bags, and can exchange five pieces of litter found on campus for a flower.

In collaboration with a class, a water-testing table will also be present at Flower Power, allowing students to compare the taste of bottled water versus tap water.

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