Mania ends, but recycling goes on

The results from this spring’s RecycleMania on campus are in and tallied. During the 10-week recycling drive, students and staff recycled 2,973 pounds of bottles and cans, 42,657 pounds of paper and 50,976 pounds of corrugated cardboard—for a grand total of 96,606 pounds of recycled materials.

Residents of the Ray Street Complex claimed king-of-the-hill status with an average of 2.273 pounds of recycled paper, corrugated cardboard, bottles and cans per person.

“I’m really proud of this effort,” Michael Diesner, Ray Street Complex coordinator, says. “I post the results to the web site, so I was the first to get the information to add to the table. Every time I saw the results, I couldn’t have been more pleased that my students were taking all the different leadership roles and were putting all the skills they’d learned into making a tangible difference in their community.”

Diesner says that even after the official end to the competition, the recycling spirit at UD continued as strong as ever.

“I can tell you that the effort to recycle is continuing,” Diesner says. In the final weeks of spring semester, after the competition concluded, recycling bins continued to overflow every week, he says, adding that students remained “adamant about making a difference.”

“Many students recycled in their home communities and understand the importance of recycling,” Kathleen Kerr, director of Residence Life, says.“RecycleMania is a great way to get students excited about recycling here at UD.”

The 10-week contest at UD, sponsored by Dining Services, Residence Life, Facilities/Grounds and Custodial Services, targeted paper, corrugated cardboard, bottles and cans. To see the final residence hall tallies, go to [www.udel.edu/reslife/students/recyclemania.htm].