RecycleMania strikes Res. Halls

By Gwen Daniels

Published Feb. 12, 2008

RecycleMania has hit MU.

MU is competing against more than 400 colleges and universities across the country to collect recycled waste.

At MU, Steve Burdic, coordinator of solid waste and recycling for Campus Facilities' Landscape Services, orchestrates RecycleMania.

Campus Facilities, the Department of Residential Life and Sustain Mizzou are working together to promote RecycleMania, which is also sponsored across the U.S. by the National Recycling Coalition.

According to the RecycleMania Web site, schools will be recognized for having the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita or the highest recycling rate.

Schools can also focus on one particular recyclable. This year, MU will target cardboard recycling, Sustain Mizzou President Ben Datema said.

Other schools are directing their efforts toward paper, bottles, cans and food service organics.

"We already have a pretty good infrastructure going with cardboard in the residence halls, so we wanted to capitalize on that, work with that number some more," Datema said.

Students can recycle cardboard at eight recycling stations set up near the residence halls.

Dobbs Area, Hatch Hall, Johnston Hall, McDavid Hall, Mark Twain Hall, Rollins Area, Southwest Campus Housing, Virginia Avenue Housing and Wolpers Hall have cardboard recycling stations nearby.

Residential Life Director Frankie Minor said participating in RecycleMania is a fitting extension for the department.

When Burdic pitched the idea to the department, "it seemed like a natural progression to us," Minor said.

"We've actually been offering recycling probably for at least ten years, and we've got bins in the residence halls where students can recycle right there on their floors," he added.

The Department of Residential Life will help by promoting the contest, Minor said.

Marketing efforts could include table tents in the dining facilities and fliers and decorated bulletin boards in the residence halls, he said.

The department will also encourage community and peer advisers to promote the contest with Facebook.com messages and word of mouth.

Minor said he thinks students sometimes need encouragement to recycle.

"It's not a habit that a lot of our students seem to be exercising regularly, but that seems to be changing and improving," he said.

Datema said MU does a "pretty good job" recycling.

The campus has a recycling rate of 26 percent, but there is room to grow, he said.

"I think Steve Burdic has said before that we could maximize that around 50 percent possibly," Datema said. "He's talked about having a zero percent waste campus. He's seeing that as more and more of a possibility."

Datema said RecycleMania fits with Sustain Mizzou's goal for civilization to live within its societal means.

"We make sure we meet our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations," Datema said. "Recycling helps extend their (recyclables') lifetime and stretch their usefulness and stretch their life longer to make the system more efficient."

Recycling waste also saves MU thousands of dollars each year.

According to the MU Solid Waste Management & Recycling Web site, "Recycling saves MU $103,000 per year in hauling and disposal costs."

It costs about $67 to throw away a ton of waste, but after Burdic renegotiated the recycling contract, recycling is virtually free, Datema said.

"Now every time we divert from the landfill, we save $67," he said. "Once you see the stats coming from the university, it builds up pretty quickly."

Minor said he hopes RecycleMania will ignite recycling fever at MU.

"Hopefully Mizzou will become as well known for its recycling efforts as its accomplishments on the athletic fields," he said.

RecycleMania began Jan. 27 and will continue until April 5. Weekly results are posted online on the RecycleMania Web site. At the end of the contest, the winning schools will receive trophies.