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| RecycleMania lasts until April 7. |
The Green Team, Custodial Services and ASI have entered the university in a national competition with roughly 200 other universities and colleges to see who can recycle the most between Jan. 28 and April 7.
Known as RecycleMania, the federal Environmental Protection Agency-sponsored competition aims to raise awareness about recycling and increase the amount of materials diverted from landfills.
As of March 28, Cal Poly Pomona ranked 54th overall.
“Cal Poly Pomona has a commingled recycling program, so people don't need to separate their recyclables,” says student Joe Lucas, the Green Team's Recycling Initiative leader. “We want the campus community to increase how much they use the existing program. A friendly competition with other universities just might be the extra push some people need to throw that can or water bottle away in the blue bins.”
Universities and colleges with the largest amount of recyclables per capita; the largest amount of total recyclables; the least amount of trash per capita; or have the highest recycling rate – will win awards.
Cal Poly Pomona is no stranger to recycling initiatives. The Facilities Planning & Management Department was recently recognized by the Los Angeles Regional Agency for diverting 3,490.845 tons from entering the landfills in 2005.
The university's recycling program consists mostly of programs to divert commingled recycling (paper, cardboard, cans, bottles, etc), construction material, scrap metal and green waste from landfills. The university also offers recycling program for cell phones, toner and inkjet cartridges.
Here are a few tips to increase recycling individually and at events on campus:
- Take initiative to recycle in your facilities and at your events on campus.
- If you plan events on campus get cardboard recycling boxes with labels from Facilities & Planning Management to place next to garbage cans.
- Designate a recycling coordinator who can organize recycling for your event.
- Reuse cardboard boxes.
For more information about RecycleMania visit: https://www.recyclemaniacs.org/index.htm or contact Joe Lucas at jllucas@cpp.edu.
To learn more about Cal Poly Pomona's recycling program visit: https://www.cpp.edu/~fpm/Management/logistics_recycling/index.htm.