Edmonds CC to participate in RecycleMania competition

rmlogo_new w reg. markStarting in February, Edmonds Community College will participate in a nationwide competition aimed at reducing waste and increasing recycling on college campuses.

RecycleMania, recyclemaniacs.org, will take place February 3-March 30. The college will track their trash and recycling and report its results for eight weeks.

A kickoff event for RecycleMania at Edmonds CC will be from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Wed., Jan. 30 in Brier Hall lobby, 20000 68th Ave. W, Lynnwood. The event will raise awareness of what can be collected and recycled including paper, cardboard, cans and bottles, and organic food service materials. Edmonds CC is the only community college in the state competing.

During RecycleMania, the Center for Service-Learning will hold campus clean-ups 1-4 p.m., most Tuesdays.

“We’re hoping to collect even more recyclables during our Trashy Tuesday clean-ups and add to our recycling total,” said Edmonds CC Center for Service-Learning Manager Amy Johnson.

Winners will include colleges: which recycle the most on a per capita basis; have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste; or which generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling.

Winners of the competition, in each category, will receive recognition on the RecycleMania website and in a national press release as well as an award made out of recyclable materials and the right to host that category’s traveling trophy for the year.

Students will lead the effort. In 2011, Edmonds CC students assessed themselves a new sustainability fee of $.50 per credit to help fund practices on campus such as using compostable materials (instead of Styrofoam) for campus food services. The fee also created a Green Team of five paid student advocates for sustainability.

“The RecycleMania competition provides a way to rally the students, staff, and faculty to reduce and recycle more and make sustainability a way of life here on campus. Our goal is to spread the word that recycling is beneficial to all of us – it saves energy, preserves natural resources, and lessens the need for landfill space,” said Stewart Sinning, an energy management student and member of the college’s Green Team.

Edmonds Community College has focused on sustainability since 2006 as one of its core values. The college has been teaching environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable practices in its classes and programs while modeling sustainability in its campus operations. This includes a proactive campus recycling program.

Last year, the college received its first LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for renovated Meadowdale Hall, installed a new solar installation on campus with help from Snohomish County PUD; and saved 17 percent (more than $100,000 annually) on its energy bills due to energy efficiency upgrades funded by the State Jobs Act.

For more information about sustainability at the college, go to edcc.edu/sustain.

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