UTSA participates for sixth year in national RecycleMania competition

RecycleMania

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(Feb. 12, 2013) -- For the sixth year, The University of Texas at San Antonio is participating in the national intercollegiate competition, RecycleMania. Running Jan. 20-March 30, the goal for each of the 523 universities and colleges in the completion is to recycle the most pounds of recyclables per capita. After the first week of competition, UTSA sat at 11th of 99 campuses across the United States and Canada in the Grand Champion category.

The participation of the entire UTSA community is encouraged. Besides achieving a greener environment for the university and the community, the contest highlights UTSA's recycling program, which includes education, promotion, teamwork and recognition of participants. Please continue recycling! This year for the first time, Styrofoam cups, plates and take-away food containers can be recycled.

In RecycleMania, Texas ranks second to New York regarding number of participants. This year, UTSA entered the Grand Champion category, which combine trash and each one of the core recyclable materials to determine a school's recycling rate as a percentage of its overall waste generation. UTSA is including trash, paper, cardboard, cans and bottle weights. The winner in this category will the highest recycling rate, which means they have not only reduced trash disposal through waste prevention, but also have a strong recycling program for the acceptable materials.

Besides collecting the usual recyclables, there will be specially organized sensitive-document paper collection days at the Main Campus, including document shredding. The Shred Pod will be at the Main Campus only March 21-22. Staff can bring sensitive documents from home or office for shredding; staff at the Downtown and HemisFair Park campuses also are invited to participate, or contact the Office of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management at 210-458-5808 or 210-452-7252 to arrange document pick-up at their respective campuses.

In last year's competition in the Gorilla category, UTSA ranked 69th among 296 colleges and universities, by gathering 247,832 pounds of recyclable materials -- a 31.7 percent increase over the 188,184 pounds collected the previous year, and moving up 34 ranks. Additionally, UTSA placed fourth in Texas, right behind Texas A&M University, which placed third in the category.

>> Think before you throw away items that can be recycled. Recyclables include paper, cardboard, plastics, aluminum cans, glass bottles and Styrofoam food containers (take-out trays and cups). Exceptions include items such as food, liquids, used napkins and facial tissues, coffee grounds and Styrofoam formed packing. Everything else goes in the blue recycling bins across the campuses.

For more information, visit the UTSA Recycling website.

 

 

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