Wednesday, February 16, 2011
USI competes with UE in Alcoa Foundation/Keep America Beautiful RecycleMania
Contact for more information:
Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 "By supporting KAB's RecycleMania, we want to educate students, professors and the entire campus community about the importance of recycling and inspire people to take that extra step in the dorm, at the library and after class," said Paula Davis, Alcoa Foundation President. Alcoa's Warrick Operations is sponsoring the local competition between USI and University of Evansville, and donated recycling bins to both universities to assist them in their existing sustainability programs. The university that recycles the most on a per capita basis, produces the least amount of waste, and recycles the largest percentage of overall waste will receive a $1,500 donation for its recycling program. "At USI, we believe in the importance of recycling and sustainability, not just as an educational issue for students, but also as part of being a large business enterprise and stewards of a campus blessed by natural beauty and resources," USI President Dr. Linda L.M. Bennett said. "A good-natured competition with our friends across town will be fun, but at the end of the day, we all benefit from more recycling, better sustainability practices, and increased awareness of environmental issues." Todd A. Wilson, assistant vice president for Marketing and Communications, attended a press conference announcing the program on the president's behalf. "We're a large business enterprise with a population of students, faculty and staff of more than 12,000 and a campus of 1,400 acres," Wilson said. "Recycling and sustainable practices make sense on a number of levels." Recycling at USI dates back at least to the early 1980s, but has become more sophisticated as new recycling options have become available. Housing and Residence Life, with 3,000 full-time residents, has been particularly active in recycling. Last year, 56,000 pounds of material were kept out of the landfill. Housing and Residence Life has also received grants to do educational programs in local schools, and partners with the USI grounds crews and Allied Waste to collect and sell as much recyclable material as possible, making the operation partially self-supporting. The University bails aluminum and collects paper and plastic in bulk along with other materials from construction and renovation. In 2009, USI was the recipient of the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana's 2009 John Biasini Environmental Excellence Award for recycling and reuse. Last year, 607 participating colleges and universities participated in Recycle Mania and collected more than 84.5 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics. This prevented the release of 137,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere. During the challenge, Keep Evansville Beautiful, a KAB affiliate, is offering to assist students at both universities tips on recycling and is willing to speak to university clubs and groups planning to participate in the campus-wide effort. Rounding out Alcoa Foundation's partnership with KAB are additional activities meant to promote recycling on individual and institutional levels: - For every download of Alcoa's Aluminate(TM) recycling app for the iPhone, $1 is donated towards a $50,000 grant for KAB's recycling programs. - Recorded webinars will reach more than 400 members of the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), NGOs and other community-based groups to provide insights into recycling different waste streams. - Best practices for recycling will be on display and at work as colleges and universities compete to see who can reduce, reuse and recycle the most waste. The Alcoa Foundation's partnership with KAB reinforces Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation's commitment to increasing recycling across communities. Since 2008, Alcoa has distributed more than 75,000 recycling bins, launched the Make an Impact program, which helps families live more sustainably, and developed the free Aluminate(TM) recycling app. In the last five years, nearly $3.5 million has been invested in community-based recycling programs. |
Copyright © 2013 University of Southern Indiana. All rights reserved.