University Relations
April 25, 2008 Communique
UCCS gets close to recycling goal
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is not the trashiest among more than 400 universities participating in a national college campus recycling contest, RecycleMania.
UCCS finished 41st overall and 17th among public universities in the Grand Champion category devoted to campuses with the highest recycling rate compared to waste sent to the landfill, according to Linda Kogan, sustainability officer, Facilities Services.
“This is the first year we’ve had a true campus-wide recycling program at UCCS,” Kogan said. “We have a goal of 26 percent recycling. In this particular contest, we were at 25.79 percent.”
Kogan isn’t splitting soda cans over two-tenths of a percent. She is enthusiastic about the response of faculty, staff and students who recycled 131,079 pounds of materials during the ten-week contest including 47,190 pounds of paper, 24,626 pounds of containers and 30,300 pounds of cardboard.
“I want to thank faculty, staff and students who participated,” Kogan said. “But my biggest thanks is to the facilities crews who collected this material and ensured it got recycled. Our partners, Recycle America, Waste Management and Bestway also provided incredible support.”
Other stats from the contest showed that UCCS recycled 14.26 pounds of material per person (29th place), and also did well in conserving materials with 55.29 pounds of waste that went to the landfill (23rd place).
But while Kogan is happy with the first year results, she’s quick to point out that an estimated 42 percent of what UCCS faculty, staff and students are sending to the landfill could have been recycled.
“So, what’s our goal for next year?” she asked recently.
That’s a question that will likely be repeated over the next several weeks and months.