51³Ô¹ÏÍø

By Kim Cobb
51³Ô¹ÏÍøNews

DALLAS (SMU) – Aggressive recycling by students, faculty and staff pushed 51³Ô¹ÏÍøto first place among Texas private colleges and universities in the annual RecycleMania competition’s per capita category, amassing a whopping 18.15 pounds of recyclable material per person over the eight-week competition.

51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced second among all 22 Texas colleges and universities in the per capita category, and in the top 15 percent nationwide when the results were measured against the 363 colleges and universities competing in that category. This was the 11^th year for RecycleMania, and only the second year that 51³Ô¹ÏÍøhas entered the competition division.

“I want to thank everyone on campus for their participation,” said Eric English, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøEnvironmental Manager and co-chair of the 51³Ô¹ÏÍøSustainability Committee. “Since this was only our second year in the competition division, I believe you all should give yourselves a big round of applause. I can’t wait until next year.”

Results in the various RecycleMania categories were measured for eight weeks, from February 6 to April 2. The tournament started with two pre-season reporting weeks beginning January 23, meaning that RecycleMania was a 10-week experience for participating colleges and universities.

51³Ô¹ÏÍøcollected 119 tons of recyclable material during this year’s competition, compared to 78 tons collected during the 10-week period last year. SMU’s Sustainability Committee also sponsored an inter-campus recycling competition during RecycleMania, resulting in these winners in three categories:

• Residence Hall Winner: Perkins Hall
• Academic/Athletic Facility Winner: Bridwell Library
• Area/School Winner: Central Library

RecycleMania began in February 2001 with a competition between Ohio University and Miami University to increase recycling in the residence and dinning halls on their campuses. By this year’s competition, 630 colleges and universities registered to participate – 391 of those in the Competition Division.

And the Final Results are:

Per Capita:

1. Texas Private Schools — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 1st out  of 7 Schools.
2. Texas All Schools — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 2nd out of 22 Schools.
3. Conference USA — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 2nd out of 8 Schools.
4. Nationally — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 54th of 363 Schools, which places 51³Ô¹ÏÍøin the top 15% Nationally of all Schools

Targeted Material (Cardboard):

1. Texas Private Schools — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 2nd out  of 5 Schools.
2. Texas All Schools — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 3rd out of 5 Schools.
3. Conference USA — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 4th out of 15 Schools.
4. Nationally — 51³Ô¹ÏÍøplaced 159  of 230 Schools.

 SMU collected a total of 119 tons of recyclables compared to 78 tons last year.

51³Ô¹ÏÍøSaved Environment for the 10 week period of RecycleMania:

• Energy – 487,900KWh
• Water – 833,00 gallons
• Landfill Space – 357 cubic yards
• Trees – 2,023
• Air Pollutants – 7,140 pounds

 51³Ô¹ÏÍøCommunity recycled 18.15 pounds of recycle per person.

The Competition 

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51³Ô¹ÏÍøis a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøenrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.

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