To most of the student body, Recyclemania is still a relatively unknown occurrence. Unless you are actively involved in hall council, many residents are unaware of what is actually going on, and the student body is not fully aware of how successful the university has been in creating a more green environment. It ends up being an under-appreciated program, which is disappointing, considering how the success of this program speaks volumes on the character of the university as a whole.
Recyclemania, a recycling competition among over 600 universities nationwide, has been in full swing here on campus since early February. Residence halls, individual clubs and the university as a whole have been pushing students to save their bottles and cardboard paper and bring their old electronics to centers to be properly recycled.
Last year in the 2013 competition, Stony Brook University recycled the most e-waste out of all the colleges participating in the competition. E-waste is discarded electronics and various electrical parts, ink cartridges, toners and printers. We earned a spot in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges. Among the SUNY schools, Stony Brook earned first place in the general recycling category.
To start off the competition this year, Stony Brook has added special receptacles around campus for the collection of printer cartridges, batteries and cell phones. The Office of Sustainability is working to do pickups for larger items like printers and old computers from local homes, academic buildings and dorm rooms. The university is going beyond just the basics of collection by incorporating more environmentally friendly methods and materials into the construction of new buildings. The green initiative may be at its full swing during this competition, but the university works hard to maintain awareness throughout the year as well.
There are many misconceptions towards recycling on campus. A notion that pervades the student body is that all recycled materials are just thrown out because the paper and plastic waste are all thrown into the same truck. However, the university contracts out an outside agency to sort the waste to be properly recycled.
The university is really going above and beyond the call-to-arms against climate change. Stony Brook brags about it fairly often on posters and other advertising campaigns and they deserve to. The large number of recycling bins around campus and in all dorm rooms retracts any excuse that students could make against recycling—it is just so easy to do it here. Stony Brook University deserves all accolades it receives for the effort they put in towards expanding recycling on campus, but should put more effort into publicizing the purpose of Recyclemania.
Sincerely-
The Editorial Board
