Grand Valley places high in nationwide recycling contest

Grand Valley placed in the top 100 nationwide as champions of Recyclemania, compared to last year’s ranking of 128 on the list. Recyclemania, which ran for ten weeks and ended in early April, aimed to increase student awareness about waste reduction. More than 630 colleges and universities participated this year.

Statewide, Grand Valley ranked top three in all five categories: Grand Champion, Waste Minimization, Food Service Organics, Per Capita Classic (largest amount of acceptable recyclables per person), and Gorilla Prize (highest tonnage of recyclables).

“We’ve come a long way since we first entered the competition four years ago, and we’re continuously growing each year,” said Steve Leeser. “I think each university has its own twist on recycling. For example, we’re a leader in composting.”

In Michigan, Grand Valley placed first in Food Service Organics, where 5.53 pounds of food waste is composted per person on campus; the university ranked 37th in the country. During the ten-week competition, Grand Valley recycled 200,000 pounds of compost.

Recycling efforts throughout the university increased over last year. For 2010-11, Grand Valley recycled 318,740 pounds of material and 33 percent of its waste stream. Last year, more than 227,442 pounds of material were recycled and 27 percent of the waste stream.

Campus Dining, Housing, Sustainable Community Development Initiative and Pew Campus Operations helped Facilities Services during the contest.

Visit www.recyclemaniacs.org to view all results of competition.