There is an odd quietness in the air this week. Could it be that after ten weeks of gathering data, competing among other schools, and promotion, RecycleMania has ended? Yes, that’s it! There is no doubt that the place UR really shone this year was in promotion this year. For the first time ever, a promotional committee was formed by the recycling office and Grassroots to create a full line-up of events and activities. Each week had a different theme ranging from recycling, to water conservation, to landfill waste, to art. Members of the committee involved many student groups such as GreenSpace, EcoReps, Engineers for a Sustainable World, UR Biodiesel, Global Water Brigades, College Democrats, SAM, DU, and more! So, what were some of the most memorable highlights?
The Green Energy Fair was probably the first time we made some real noise on campus. Students stopped in to get free hot chocolate, spin our trivia wheel, win prizes, and learn some valuable information.
Then, we had a real teachable moment as a group of students went out to find out what happens after they put items in the recycling bin at the tour the Monroe County Recycling Center.
RecycleMania would not have been the same at UR without the annual tradition of Mt. Trashmore. For many years now, Grassroots has worked all day, rain, shine, or snow, just to make the message clear on campus. Usually with trash disposal it’s out of sight out of mind. But on Mt. Trashmore day it is very hard to ignore what we are throwing away and begs the question, why?
Then, to put a positive spin on our landfill waste week, GreenSpace and DU teamed up for a trash cleanup along the riverside to help keep our campus beautiful
The last week we decided to Get Creative and featured a Re-Imagined, Re-Designed, Re-Created art exhibit. The multimedia exhibit featured many artists including local professional, Scott Grove. It also included a promotional video by one of our very own EcoReps, Ulrik Soderstrom, that we will now have for future years of promotion. Check it out here.
There were lots of opportunities to have fun and win free stuff including during our weekly tabling events, the Caught Green Handed program, and the Weekly Buzz RecycleMania Trivia Contest.
Stay tuned to find out the final scores. But you can see our weekly results and current standings updated live!
