Campus

Green Education

 

Sometimes even the best laid plans go awry. That's certainly something to remember when trying to implement a recycling program on your college or university's campus. No matter how much planning, organizing, or fundraising you accomplish, people are unlikely to participate in the cause if they are unsure why they are or should be participating. 

Educating potential participants is the most effective way to get them involved. By creating a call to action, you are not only addressing potential participants but reaching out to them. 

Here are some great ways to educate others on going green and implementing recycling on your campus:

1. Frequent movie and film discussions
2. "Green police" (otherwise known as an organized campus clean up)
3. Co-sponsoring speakers and events
4. Recycling stations on busy parts of campus
5. Posted reminders to turn off lights/air conditioning/heat when not being used in classrooms, dorms, and other campus buildings

5 Steps to Boost Recycling on Campus 

Ever thought about starting a recycling movement or green campaign on your campus and just not sure how? Jonathan Bardelline, a writer for GreenBiz.com, posted a list of great tips to the eco-friendly website. 

It is a simple, five-step process for starting reducing waste and increasing recycling on campuses:

1. Establish a green council. Get commitments from all departments. Reducing waste means activating a culture shift.
2. Conduct an assessment. Find out what waste is being generated, where it's coming from, what's currently being done about it and what you want to be doing.
3. Identify opportunities. Find ways to dispose of as much trash as possible without sending it to landfill.
4. Implement programs. Create programs that are specific to things like sporting events, dorms, and the Greek system. When you have clear priorities, systems, and tools, people are much more likely to participate and be engaged. 
5. Measure and report. Find out what is being recycled, identify gaps in programs and evaluate if new efforts are needed.

The Environmentally Friendly Campus

If you're looking for ways to get involved in the recycling and green movement at your school, you're in luck! Recent reports show that many colleges and universities are starting up recycling programs in order to promote a more environmentally friendly campus.
    
West Virginia University students have multiple options available. The WECAN website, provided by WVU's Office of Sustainability, provides a great list of recycling services provided by the university. Everything from document and book disposal to Mountaineers Recycle - it's all there! If you're a Mountaineer, take advantage of some of these great ways to get involved and start reducing your carbon footprint today!
     
And hey, even if your specific college or university hasn't yet matched schools like WVU in environmentally friendly progress, there are still ways to get involved! Just begin taking advantage of those funky little blue bins that you've probably noticed hanging around campus instead of throwing everything out in an ordinary trashcan. Recycling is a movement, but a movement can start with you!

Campus Competition, Anyone?

RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an 8-week period each spring, colleges across the United States and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and are in turn ranked in various categories based on who recycles the most on a per capita basis, as well as which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and which schools generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling.  With each week’s updated ranking, participating schools follow their performance against other colleges and use the results to rally their campus to reduce and recycle more.

National recognition is provided to the winning school in each category on the RecycleMania website and in a national press release. Winning schools receive an award made out of recyclable materials, and win the right to host that category’s special traveling trophy for the coming year.

If you're looking for ways to help make your campus community a more environmentally friendly place, RecycleMania is a popular, fun, and easy way to get the movement started. 

Get a group together, sign up, and start recycling today!