UND and University of Minnesota-Crookston students will soon embark on a friendly competition with a purpose -- increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste produced on campus.
The two schools, along with several other North Dakota and Minnesota higher education institutions, are among the 556 U.S. colleges that have registered so far for the 11th-annual RecycleMania.
During the annual competition, which starts today and ends April 2, participating schools report their recycling and trash data each week. The numbers are used to rank the universities by who has the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita and the highest recycling rate.
Deb Merrill, UND's recycling coordinator, said students are competing for bragging rights and the knowledge that they're helping make their schools a little greener.
"It's not win or lose, it's just knowing that you're actually taking the initiative to recycle," she said. "It's the campus effort and joining together to minimize the waste and increase our recycling."
ADVERTISEMENT
UND first participated in the competition in 2009, and at the time was the only North Dakota school to be a part of RecycleMania. This year, Jamestown College and Minot State University also are competing.
The University of Minnesota-Crookston, Concordia College and nine other schools are competing in Minnesota this year.
UND will host a recycling kickoff at 10:30 p.m. Friday that will include music, prizes, food and beverages. The event will be held in the Memorial Union Loading Dock.
Merrill said UND's involvement in RecycleMania helps the university inform students, staff and faculty members about easy steps they can take to reduce their environmental footprint.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," she said. "This event raises awareness of what and how to recycle and how important it is to the environment."
UND's residence halls also will compete against their fellow dorms on campus to see who can recycle the most and create the least amount of waste during the event.
To learn more about RecycleMania or view rankings of participating schools, visit www.recyclemaniacs.org .
Johnson reports on higher education. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send e-mail to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
