Ball State University students are getting the chance to recycle through Recyclemania, a nationwide recycling competition.
"We want students to carry themselves in such a way that they respect their environments," Brian Tomlinson, chair of the Environmental Action Team, said. "If students can develop this respect it could be of significant value to them in the world outside Ball State."
Recyclemania is a 10-week competition in which 93 universities across the country compete to recycle the most waste, Tomlinson said. Ball State is the only university from Indiana participating according to the Web site, recyclemaniacs.com. The competition began in January but the inter-hall competition at Ball State begins today. The custodians will chart how much trash is recycled, and the hall that recycles the most trash through April 8 will be given an ice cream party, Joel Grant, co-president for Students for a Sustainable Campus, said.
"Ball State's facilities and grounds management have improved the availability of recycling containers dramatically across campus in the last year," Grant said.
Mike Planton, associate director for Landscape and Environmental Management, said he hoped the program increased student awareness regarding recycling and the environment, even when the competition was over.
Recycling percentages have been gathered weekly and sent to Planton for him to keep track for the competition, Tomlinson said. He also emphasized Ball State's success with the program thus far. He said he thought students sometimes wondered why it was important to recycle. However, Ball State students are recycling a lot according to the current percentages, he said.
Grant said, for example, 36 percent of waste from the residence halls last week was recyclable. But if Ball State reached 38 percent, the university would be ranked in the top five for the contest.
"It is my hope that generating student participation in the Recyclemania competition will increase awareness and usage of our convenient recycling network," Grant said.
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