Annual RecycleMania Competition Begins at ODU

February 02, 2018

Noell Saunders

It's time to recycle like you mean it.

The recycling department at Old Dominion University's Facilities Management is asking the campus community to promote sustainability by participating in a 10-week intercollegiate recycling competition called RecycleMania.

Last year, Old Dominion ranked 73rd out of 320 schools, with a total of 253,938 pounds of recycled materials.

"My hope is that our campus community continues to practice good stewardship and keeps our environment clean," said Harvey Logan, Facilities Management support services manager.

This year, Facilities Management has updated its marketing strategy, using more visual aids around the University's campus. The signs are in Italian, French, German and Spanish to encourage students, faculty and staff to recycle.

"I think this is a great idea because recycling is such a broad responsibility, and internationally it has the same effects as it does here on our campus," Logan said.

RecycleMania is intended as a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for colleges and universities to promote waste reduction activities.

Over a 10-week period each spring, colleges across the United States and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week. They are ranked in various categories on a per capita basis. The schools can use the week-to-week results to rally their campus to reduce and recycle more.

National recognition is provided to the winning school in each category on the RecycleMania website and in a national press release. Winning schools receive an award made out of recyclable materials.

At Old Dominion, recycled materials can be picked up or dropped off at the Recycling Center located at 865 W. 39th Street. To request a pickup, call Logan at 757-683-3005. Recyclemania ends March 31.

For information on how faculty and staff can participate in recycling efforts on campus and what materials are recyclable, visit the University's recycling website.

Read more about Harvey Logan and his philosophy on recycling in the next issue of ODU's e-magazine, Monarch Extra, in March.