F&M Competes in Recyclemania
By Chris Karlesky
For the fourth consecutive year, Franklin & Marshall College is competing in Recyclemania, a 10-week competition among colleges and universities in various categories of recycling. F&M will track its campus recycling rate for plastic, glass and metal containers; mixed paper; and corrugated cardboard.
This year’s competition kicked off on Feb. 5 and runs until April 6. Tom Simpson, Millport Conservancy liaison and sustainability coordinator, says the annual program is an excellent way to increase awareness about recycling among the campus community.
“There are valuable resources being thrown away that could be used for other materials through recycling,” Simpson says. “We have a chance to educate people with real-world application. We’d like to bring down our overall trash production.”
Each week of the competition, Simpson receives a report from Waste Management tracking the recycling efforts on campus, and a report from the Lancaster Solid Waste Management Authority documenting how much trash the College is producing. F&M will compete in four categories:
- Grand Champion (recycling rate as a percentage of overall waste)
- Per Capita Classic (combined weight of recycled materials per number of people in campus community)
- Gorilla Prize (highest gross weight of combined recyclables)
- Targeted Materials (leadership in specific material: cardboard, mixed paper and bottles and cans)
F&M will compete against Centennial Conference rivals such as Gettysburg College, Haverford College and Johns Hopkins University, in addition to larger institutions such as Drexel University and Penn State University.
“A major goal for our campus would be to raise our recycling (diversion) rate from 26.4 percent last year to 30 percent in 2012,” Simpson says.
