University Times

Official results aren’t yet in, but preliminary calculations put the Pittsburgh campus only a few recyclables shy of its goal as the 10-week RecycleMania competition came to an end.

According to Laura W. Zullo, senior manager for capital and special projects in Facilities Management, the campus came in with a per-capita recycling rate of 14.94 pounds per person. The University’s internal goal was set at 15 pounds per capita. Campus organizers aren’t going to quibble over a few bottles and cans, deeming the effort a success. “If we round up, we reach our goal,” Zullo quipped.

During the competition, which ran Jan. 17-March 27, nearly 267 tons (533,803 pounds) of recyclables were collected on the Pittsburgh campus, including 168,873 pounds of paper, 329,455 pounds of corrugated cardboard and 35,475 pounds of bottles and cans.

(In comparison, Facilities Management statistics show that during all of fiscal year 2009, Pitt recycled 41 tons of aluminum, glass and plastic, 503 tons of paper and 601 tons of corrugated cardboard.)

RecycleMania, which pits institutions against each other in a competition to raise awareness and increase recycling on campus, is a program of the RecycleMania steering committee in coordination with the College and University Recycling Coalition.

This year, 607 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada participated in the challenge — 382 in the competition division and 225 in the less-formal benchmark division. The institutions represent more than five million students and 1.3 million faculty and staff, according to challenge organizers.

Last year, as a first-time participant, the University opted for RecycleMania’s noncompetitive benchmark division (in which recycling collections are measured but not reported in competition rankings) as a way to promote recycling in the residence halls. (See Feb. 5, 2009, University Times.) The University exceeded its goal of 15 pounds of recyclables per student by collecting 24 pounds per student over the 10-week period.

This year, the Pittsburgh campus moved up to the competition category and expanded its efforts to include faculty and staff.

Organizers placed extra recycling containers in visible locations across campus and encouraged faculty and staff to help boost collections by clearing recyclables from their offices over spring break.

The lower per-capita total for 2010 reflects the expansion of the program to the full campus, Zullo noted, pointing out that last year’s results included only the residence hall population of 6,557 students. Expanding the competition to the full campus this year raised Pitt’s per capita population to 35,718 people, she said.

Pitt’s 2010 ranking won’t be known until results are announced on April 16 (at http://recyclemaniacs.org), but Zullo said preliminary figures indicate that Pitt stands in the top 10 percent in total weight recycled, in the top 20 percent for corrugated cardboard recycling, and in the top 40 percent for total recyclables per person. The campus was in the middle of the pack or lower for paper and bottles and cans. RecycleMania competitors are ranked based on standardized weights for the materials collected.

According to RecycleMania organizers, last year 510 participating colleges and universities collected more than 69.4 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics, preventing the release of more than 88.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere.

“Overall, we are very pleased with our results,” Zullo said, noting that the University intends to compete again next year.

—Kimberly K. Barlow