"Rush to Recycle" Challenge

Posted by on September 27, 2002

The "Rush to Recycle" Challenge pits colleges and universities across the Commonwealth that are members of in the Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy (PCIEP) against one another to see which school can recycle the most materials over a eight-week period from October 7, 2002 to November 30, 2002. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is sponsoring this contest. Visit DEP through the PA PowerPort at http://www.state.pa.us or directly at http://www.dep.state.pa.us (directLINK "Rush to Recycle") for further details.

The main kick-off event will occur on September 21, 2002 with DEP Secretary Dave Hess’ announcement at the Penn State home football game against Louisiana Tech University. Each campus may also request kick-off event support from DEP depending upon their needs. Beginning on Monday October 7, 2002, the contest will last for eight weeks, ending Friday November 30, 2002.

Each campus will report the tonnage of recycled material collected during the baseline period and then bi-weekly to DEP’s Challenge coordinator. At the end of the eight-week competition each campus will have their total collected tonnage tabulated and compared to their original benchmark. The schools with the greatest percentage increase over their benchmark and most overall tons of recycled material per capita (student, faculty and staff) will be awarded the top honors.

Your school can recycle any of the following materials: Glass bottles and jars; Plastic bottles (soda and water bottles); Mixed paper (including cardboard, white paper, magazines and more); Newspaper; Aluminum cans.

Recycled material can be picked up from every part of campus including all buildings, dorms, classrooms, sports facilities, etc. Designating where materials should be collected is a decision left up to each school. DEP will attempt to incorporate directions regarding where to recycle on your campus in your promotional materials.