The EcoRep Program, a campus organization that promotes recycling and reducing campus waste, coordinates the University’s participation in Recyclemania.
EcoRep was founded by Greening Princeton in 2004 but is now an independent group. Its past projects include Pull the Plug, a collaboration with Students United for a Responsible Global Environment to reduce energy use on campus.
While it is unlikely that Princeton will win the competition, the main goal of the program is “just to get people aware about recycling on campus,” Recyclemania manager and EcoRep member Wesley Loo ’10 said.
Building Services Director Jon Baer said in an e-mail that the University’s goal is to “exceed the results of our Ivy League counterparts,” in addition to increasing “our own recycling rate year-over-year.” Recyclemania is sponsored at Princeton by the Office of Sustainability and Building Services.
The Recyclemania competition awards prizes in several categories. The title of Grand Champion is bestowed on the university with the greatest rate of recycling, Per Capita Classic is given to the university with the most recyclable materials per student and faculty, Waste Minimization is awarded to the university that reduces the most waste, and the Gorilla Prize is given to the school that produces the most recycled material overall. There are material-specific categories within the broader events.
“Through the first five weeks of the competition, our results are slightly improved over prior years during the same time period,” Baer explained. “If the trend continues I expect us to achieve a rate [greater than] 31% by the end of the competition.”
The University currently has a 31.2 percent average weekly rate of recycling. The rate of recycling is measured by dividing the total weight of recycled material by the weight of all material that is recycled or thrown away.
Though the University is in 21st place in the Grand Champion category overall, it is winning among Ivy League schools. Harvard currently holds second place in the Ivies with a recycling rate of 28.36 percent, and Yale follows with 18.86 percent. Kalamazoo College, leading all participating schools, has a recycling rate of 54.69 percent.
The University leads the Ivy League in all categories except for the Gorilla Prize, in which Harvard is currently ahead. All Ivies are participating except for Cornell and Columbia.
In many of the categories, the University is in the top 10 percent in terms of per capita recycling. Last year, the University placed fifth in the Per Capita Food Waste event. This is the University’s third year in the program.
EcoRep has set up two displays in the Frist Campus Center that show the University’s total recycled material compared to Harvard’s and Yale’s.
Building Services provides the statistics on the University’s recycling efforts to Recyclemania. Loo said that at some schools, however, student volunteers weigh the waste produced.
Building Services also distributes recycling bins throughout campus and has replaced 8,000 recycling containers with new ones since January. Recently, Building Services distributed more than 200 fiberglass three-in-one waste receptacles throughout campus. “These units make recycling a no-excuses exercise for anyone in proximity to one,” Baer said.
Loo added that students sometimes recycle paper and cardboard products, but they more frequently recycle bottles and cans. An audit last year conducted by EcoRep found that most students still throw these items into the garbage, despite the availability of recycling bins.
“Taking the extra step, both literally and figuratively would be great for the environment,” Loo said.
“I’m very proud of the way Princeton University handles its waste stream, but improvements can be made,” Baer added.
At the University, Recyclemania is coordinated by a few students, “but accountability and responsibility for recycling is on every student and staff member,” Bear said.
Recyclemania is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program and the National Recycling Coalition. Founded in 2001, Recyclemania’s membership has expanded in recent years to include more than 400 schools.
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