Sometimes even school spirit can go green. The annual RecycleMania Tournament continues at ԱƵ, as well as on hundreds of other campuses across America.
RecycleMania encourages colleges and universities around the country to maximize their recycling efforts by creating a healthy competition to see who can increase their recycling rates the most.
In collaboration with the , ԱƵ students have been in the O’Connor Campus Center throughout the month of March, raising awareness about the tournament and educating community members on what can — and can’t — be recycled.
While most communities offer recycling programs, many recyclable objects are still thrown out in standard trash receptacles.
According to Ashlea Reamer ’18, an environmental studies and biology double-major from Troy, N.Y., this year’s goal is to raise the campus’ overall recycling rate by 5 percent. “We did a baseline measurement for two weeks and found that we were at an eighteen percent recycling rate,” Reamer said. “Our goal now is to reach a twenty-three percent recycling rate by the time RecycleMania ends.”
An increase in recycling is just one of ԱƵ’s ongoing environmental goals. The university has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2019, coinciding with ԱƵ’s bicentennial celebration.
Get in on the RecycleMania action. Here are some items that you may not have known are recyclable in Madison County, N.Y.:
- Pots and pans
- Empty aerosol cans
- Plastic retail bags
- Most plastic bins
- Pizza boxes
For a full list of recyclables, visit . To find out what is recyclable where you live, check your local government’s website.