National recycling competition kicks off at Grand Valley

For the seventh year, Grand Valley is competing in Recyclemania, a competition among hundreds of colleges and universities across the country to collect the largest amount of recyclables and the least amount of trash.

From January 19-March 29, Grand Valley will compete in different categories, such as Food Service Organics and Waste Minimization, over a 10-week period.

During the 2013 competition, Grand Valley ranked 33rd in the country and first in the state in the composting category; more than 190,000 pounds of materials were composted on campus.

Steve Leeser, operations supervisor for Facilities Services, said the university continues to improve in the composting area. He said Grand Valley is striving to be the top Michigan university in each category this year.

“Recyclemania has helped raise awareness about the importance of recycling, composting and reducing waste on campus,” he said. “The whole campus is involved now, including students who are eager to help.”

Facilities Services is leading the contest, with support from Campus Dining, Office of Housing and Residence Life, Sustainability Initiative, Student Environmental Coalition and Pew Campus Operations.

For more information about Recyclemania, visit www.recyclemania.org. For more information about Recyclemania at Grand Valley, visit www.gvsu.edu/facilitiesservices.