2:03 p.m., April 3, 2007--With four days left to go in RecycleMania, UD's collective green point average is anyone's guess. But with overall recycled poundage on campus topping out at 85,742 at the last official weigh-in on March 24, the University is clearly showing its recycling muscle in the national college competition; and on campus the rivalry runs so high it's made competing residence halls green with envy.

Sponsored by Dining Services, Residence Life, Facilities/Grounds and Custodial Services, this year's RecycleMania drive at UD is targeting paper, corrugated cardboard, bottles and cans, and recent tallies of poundage collected so far have increased both recycling awareness on campus and chances to win--or at least place--in the “targeted materials division” of the national event.

“We all need to be congratulated on the campus-wide effort,” Merlyn Bowen, director of marketing in Dining Services and UD RecycleMania drive director, said. “I am pleased at the student response and excited about the hall by hall competition.”

A letter mailed March 21 from John F. Cross, chief of the municipal waste reduction branch of the Environmental Protection Agency, also recognized UD's overall recycling efforts and noted that its participation in the drive was an important step in national waste reduction.

“We are excited that your campus is among the 200 colleges and universities participating in RecycleMania 2007,” Cross wrote. “During the 2006 competition, RecycleMania participants recycled more than 18.6 million pounds of waste.” This effort, Cross noted, decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 8,016 metric tons of carbon equivalent--a step similar to removing approximately 6,362 cars from the road for one year.

The last available national RecycleMania statistics, collected in mid-March, indicate that Cal State San Marcos and Rutgers University are overall front-runners, while Sheldon Jackson (Sitka, Alaska) is poised to claim the per capita “greener-than-thou” crown.

With overall recyclable poundage at UD rocketing from approximately 10,669 a few days into the drive in late January, to 85,742 at the end of week eight, UD still stands a chance to hit pay dirt, however, in the targeted materials competition (paper, corrugated cardboard, bottles and cans).

To spur initiative, participants can check updates on overall progress at UD by going to [www.udel.edu/dining/recyclemania.html], and to inspire friendly rivalry on campus, participants can monitor poundage collected by individual residence halls by going to [www.udel.edu/reslife/students/recyclemania.htm].

Final national winners in each RecycleMania category will be announced on Monday, April 16.

Article by Becca Hutchinson