Grand Valley ranks high in basketball recycling contest

Grand Valley scored among the top 10 universities in the U.S. in a challenge to recycle and compost materials during a university basketball game in February. The competition was sponsored by Recyclemania, a national program that organizes the annual tournament for colleges and universities.

Grand Valley ranked fourth in the food organics category, and seventh in the waste generation and diversion rate categories in the Basketball Game Day Challenge. More than 150 pounds of materials were composted and recycled at the men’s basketball game February 15.

Steven Leeser, operations supervisor for Facilities Services, and his team led recycling efforts at the basketball game. He said he plans to continue zero-waste efforts at home basketball games next year. He and his team also lead the fall Game Day Challenges at football games, in which Grand Valley has been a top scorer two years in a row.

Leeser organized participation in a national e-waste challenge in February, also organized by Recyclemania. Grand Valley recycled 6,742 pounds of electronics, including computers, monitors and televisions during a 30-day period. The university placed 49th overall.