By Hiba Ali
Reporter
RecycleMania is a friendly competition with over 600 universities and colleges around the country to promote recycling and maintainable practices within their campus and community.
Over 600 campuses competing against each other over which can recycle more from Feb. 3 to March 30.
“I found out about RecycleMania last year through Savannah Andrews, previous VP of Programming. She had called me at 5:30 a.m. requesting that I help her set up for a recycling event that would be featured in the morning news,” said Mike Kwon, Associated Students Inc. Executive Vice President. “From then on, I have helped last year and this year to promote recycling on our campus.”
RecycleMania is a nonprofit organization, supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program and the College & University Recycling Coalition (CURC), as it was informed in the RecycleMania website, recyclemaniacs.org.
In January 2001, it started with two universities, Ohio State University and the University of Miami, competing against each other to see who could collect a bigger number of recyclables with the goal of motivating their students in recycling on their campuses.
After their first year, other campuses started to join and it became what it is today. The very next year other universities were invited to expand RecycleMania in the U.S. and join to compete.
“By recycling instead of making new materials, not only are resources saved, but energy is saved,” ASI Vice President of University Affairs Jennifer Sanchez said.
As of these months, this is the fifth year of participating in RecycleMania.
The biggest goal of CSU Bakersfield’s RecycleMania is to help make the campus a greener and cleaner campus.
CSUB brought on campus 30 new blue and gold recycling and trash containers all over campus.
In addition, CSUB also have several blue only-cans recycle containers.
It accepts all kinds of recyclable items: paper, plastics No. 1-7, aluminum, glass and small cardboard items.
Larger cardboard can be recycled in the large bin in the southern part of Parking Lot I, by www.csub.edu/recyclemania. “On our campus, we receive tremendous support from students.Not only does the ASI Board of Directors help out in the initiative, but also club and organizations take part in activities and promoting,” Kwon said.
“This planet has been here for billions of years, yet the mass-production of products has only begun 200 or so years ago,” Sanchez said. “It is theorized, by varying sources, that the Earth can run out of some resources in as little as 40 years. I can understand the question of ‘How can I, one person, change the future of the earth?’ and I can understand the doubtful feeling that it creates. However, if everyone makes the conscious decision to recycle the bulk of resources that go through their home, the world has a hopeful future ahead.”
