RecycleMania 2015 starts this week (and will end on March 28^th).  Last year BCC finished 24^th out of 259 colleges and universities, with a 54.7% recycling rate. We beat – no, CRUSHED, schools like Harvard and MIT.

We’re going to have a hard time topping that this year, but we’d like to try – by getting to a 60% recycling rate for starters.  For a refresher on rules of the competition, and on what you can and cannot recycle and compost, see the brief FAQ (and links) below.

Here’s to another great competition!

___________________________________________________________

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I bring recyclables from home?

No – I can’t believe you even asked that!  That’s cheating (plus I don’t think Dave, Tammy, and the custodial staff would appreciate it).

Can I clean out my office?

Yes!  It is within RecycleMania rules to clean out your office, throw away old papers, etc., during the contest, as long as it is something you would normally do anyway (and hey, um, aren’t we going to be doing a lot of office cleaning in the next couple of months?). If you clean out old files between now and March 28^th that will count toward our total.

What can I recycle?

Please see the Green Team’s Recycling page for all kinds of information on what you can recycle on campus:

http://blogs.berkshirecc.edu/bccgreenteam/recycling/

How can I find out more about RecycleMania or follow results over the next ten weeks?

The competition runs from now until the end of March.  Go to the RecycleMania website at http://www.recyclemania.org/

What can I do to help?

Aside from doing your best to recycle, you can encourage students to do the same.  For example, please remind students to throw bottles and paper in the recycling bins outside the classrooms (rather than the small trash cans inside the classrooms, if there is one).  For those students who find it difficult to hold on to their Vitamin Water bottle for an extra ten feet, public shaming is encouraged.

The contest also measures how much we reduce waste – so it is helpful if you can find ways to reduce paper forms, paper handouts in classes, and so on.  (And: the college is saving several thousand dollars a year because we’ve reduced the number of trash pickups).

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact Chris Laney at 236-4631, or claney@berkshirecc.edu