RecycleMania in action
During RecycleMania, a waste diversion competition, Jessica Lisiewski (left) helps sort trash, recyclables, and compost at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash. on Feb. 12, 2016.
Lisiewski is the UW Recycling Program Coordinator, and has been planning the 2016 RecycleMania events, such as a recycled art contest and “recycle for donuts and Dubs.”
There’s no doubt that the University has plenty of rivalries. With Washington State University only a few hours away, Huskies across campus are always looking for ways to conquer in competitions.
But the Huskies don’t just compete on the field or in the classroom.
For the past few years, the University has participated in RecycleMania, a recycling competition to promote waste reduction on campuses in the United States and Canada. For eight weeks, campuses duke it out by sorting trash, compost, and recycling. RecycleMania started in early February and lasts until the beginning of April. It is the University of Washington’s fourth year participating.
Clumps of compostable paper plates and trashed candy wrappers – measured in tonnage – are tracked each week and sent out to the RecycleMania Tournament team. The University is then ranked against more than 100 other schools, including Pac-12 schools such as Stanford and Oregon State.
Jessica Lisiewski, the UW Recycling Program Coordinator, watches as a community member sorts trash, recyclables and compost in during RecycleMania at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash on Feb. 12, 2016.
According to Jessica Lisiewski, the UW Recycling Program Coordinator, RecycleMania has gotten better every year. Last year was the first time RecycleMania tracked compost, which is a big part of the University’s infrastructure.
Lisiewski works with a small student committee and the UW Recycling team to report the numbers each week for the competition. She has been working hard to plan the events for RecycleMania, and even participating on campus. Lisiewski tabled out on Red Square for the “Recycle for donuts and Dubs” event in mid-February. She encouraged students to sort common campus purchases into separate bins: compost, recycling, and trash.
In 2015, UW ranked 17 in the RecycleMania tournament. It was the first time in four years that the University had been included in the top 20. UW had a higher waste diversion rate than Stanford, Oregon State, WSU, and Arizona State University.
Lisiewski said she enjoys encouraging the campus community to, “fuel competition between schools.”
Although the University has been participating in RecycleMania for only four years, waste diversion efforts have been in the works since as early as the 1970s.
The University of Washington first started their compost program in 2004 by collecting from the UW Club and three Housing and Food Services kitchens. Thanks to UW Recycling, green composting bins are now spread far and wide on campus. While composting is relatively new, the University has been recycling paper products since Jan. 1973.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, recycling has plenty of environmental benefits. Instead of dumping milk cartons, bottles, and newspapers in to the trash, recycling, “reduces air and water pollution/emissions associated with land-filling and incineration.” Recycling also saves energy, conserves natural resources and decreases greenhouse gas emissions.
Jessica Lisiewski, the UW Recycling Program Coordinator, helps sort trash, recyclables, and compost in during RecycleMania at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash on Feb. 12, 2016. The waste diversion competition started in early February, and runs until April 1, 2016.
Aaron Tam, one of the team members assisting with RecycleMania, was tasked with creating posters, updating about the events, and sharing how RecycleMania has changed over the years on social media. Tam updates UW Recycling’s Facebook and Instagram pages with weekly RecycleMania results.
“RecycleMania is awesome because it’s a national competition among colleges, and it is the one time out of the year where recycling seems like the coolest thing to do,” Tam said. “If there’s a time to get your friends to recycle, it’s during this competition because there’s social pressure and fun activities. RecycleMania is also a great time for students to learn about recycling in fun and engaging ways with other students.”
With the expansion of UW Recycling programs like MiniMax, outdoor solar kiosks, and the restroom paper towel program, the University is on its way to a more sustainable future.
