Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 36.37
Liaison Melanie Knowles
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

Kent State University
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Leah Graham
Outreach/Recycling Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at students and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

Has the institution held a sustainability-related outreach campaign during the previous three years that was directed at employees and yielded measurable, positive results in advancing sustainability?:
Yes

Name of the campaign:
RecycleMania

A brief description of the campaign:

The RecycleMania campaign is an international campaign where US and Canadian colleges and universities compete to reduce waste and increase recycling. In addition to the larger competition, Kent State residence halls compete internally. Kent State has been participating in the RecycleMania competition division since 2009.

Outreach includes a hall vs. hall competition for the residence halls, a competition for the custodial areas, and competitions for students and for faculty/staff.


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign:

2017 US Recycling Rate 25.01% US E.P.A. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-11/documents/2017_facts_and_figures_fact_sheet_final.pdf
2017 Ohio Recycling Rate (residential/commercial): 29.06% Ohio E.P.A. https://epa.ohio.gov/portals/34/document/guidance/gd_1011.pdf
2017 Kent State Recycling Rate 35.71% Kent State RecycleMania Results https://recyclemania.org/scoreboard/past-results/
*Recycling Rate is the percentage recycled out of the recycling and trash waste streams for municipal solid waste (residential/commercial). This does not include compost.

In 2019 Kent State was in the top 10% of schools in the food organics competition category.
In 2019 Kent State was in the top 20% of schools in the Electronics Recycling Category, recycling 32,513 pounds of electronics in ONE month, an increase of over 5,000 from the previous year!
In 2018 Kent State RECYCLED 351,446 pounds during 8 weeks of RecycleMania and DECREASED the amount of trash generated from the previous year by over 250,000 pounds!

In the summer 2017 recycling survey over 95% of respondents identified themselves as recyclers compared to 88% of fall 2014 recycling survey respondents. 97% of respondents in the summer 2017 survey said recycling was very important or somewhat important at Kent State University compared to 88% in 2014.


Name of the campaign (2nd campaign):
Do It In the Dark

A brief description of the campaign (2nd campaign):

Do It In the Dark is the annual energy saving competition in the residence halls. Each hall is measured against its own baseline data. Do It In the Dark is held each year in the fall semester for two weeks. Residence Services raises awareness and makes conservation fun by having residence halls compete each fall to save energy during “Do It In the Dark.” The Do it in the Dark 2019 winner was Centennial Court B!


A brief description of the measured positive impact(s) of the campaign (2nd campaign):

Do It In the Dark is held each year in the fall semester for two weeks. Residence Services raises awareness and makes conservation fun by having residence halls compete each fall to save energy during “Do It In the Dark.” The Do it in the Dark 2019 winner was Centennial Court B!


A brief description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns:

Additional outreach campaigns include:

WINTER SHUTDOWN ENERGY SAVING CAMPAIGN for faculty and staff, where employees received letters asking them to shut down and unplug electronics, close windows and pull shades. Sticky notes with a reminder checklist were also distributed. Thanks to our collective efforts over the 2018 holiday break, the University avoided over $31,000 in energy costs over 9 days. The greenhouse gas emissions reduction was equal to taking over 93
passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

BRA RECYCLING DRIVE
Kent State's annual October bra drive started in 2013, in partnership with the Women's Center, to collect bras from students, faculty and staff for donation (if in good condition) or recycling. In October 2017 we collected 165 bras. 115 were donated to the County Clothing Center and the remaining 50 were recycled. In October 2018 175 bras were collected. 170 were donated to the County Clothing Center and the remaining 5 were recycled. In October 2019 262 bras were collected and 222 were donated to the County Clothing Center and the remaining 40 were recycled.

WINTER COAT AND CLOTHING DRIVE 2018 and 2019
From a month in November through December, Kent State University will be collecting clean, gently used or new items for all ages including warm clothing, hats, gloves, scarves and sweaters. Look for large boxes wrapped with wintry wrapping paper and Winter Coat and Clothing Drive signs in common areas at select buildings listed below. The Winter Coat and Clothing Drive is part of the Kent State's Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week events which starts on November 17. Winter coat and clothing donations will go to the Winter Warm Up Station at the Women’s Center and the Phyllis Zumkehr Portage County Clothing Center, which provides items to homeless individuals, families, elderly, and veterans in need free of charge. In 2018, nearly 550 pounds of clothing (about 200 coats) was collected and of this, 492 pounds went to the Phyllis Zumkehr County Clothing Center and 55 pounds went to the Winter Warm Up Station at the Women's Center. In 2019, 899 pounds of clothing was collected and of this, 811 pounds went to the Phyllis Zumkehr County Clothing Center and 88 pounds went to the Winter Warm Up Station at the Women's Center.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER EARTH DAY EVENT
Every year (2017, 2018, 2019) during Earth Month about 100-190 Kent State Child Development Center preschool and kindergarten children participate in environmental related activities planned and coordinated by the Office of Sustainability, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Child Development Center.

KENT CUYAHOGA 50 https://www.kent.edu/sustainability/kent-cuyahoga-50
CONCRETE POETRY: CELEBRATING THE CUYAHOGA RIVER THROUGH POETRY AND DESIGN WITH WORKS THAT APPEAR ON CONCRETE WHEN WET
How do we connect to the Cuyahoga River? The flowing water touches our emotions, our communities, our environment and our history. In this 50th anniversary year of the last Cuyahoga River fire, the Concrete Poetry project invites us to reconsider and reconnect to the river and its legacy. The 1969 fire occurred at a pivotal time and helped spark the environmental movement leading to protective legislation and the sustainability movement today. Kent State’s Office of Sustainability convened partners to create the designs. The poems are from the Wick Poetry Center’s Cuyahoga River Stanzas. The designs are from Aoife Mooney and Sanda Katila’s typography students in the School of Visual Communication and Design. Additional designs share facts about the watershed. The images that appear on the ground are meant to bring a smile, give us pause or educate. This project is a collaboration between the Office of Sustainability, the School of Visual Communication and Design and the Wick Poetry Center. Thank you to TechStyleLab for providing the stencils for the concrete designs. Designs are installed through the Kent State University Campus and downtown Kent, Ohio. Check back as more designs are installed.

During Campus Sustainability Month 2017, 50 students participated in The True Cost Documentary Showing. Learn about sustainability in the fashion industry, engage in understanding consumer power from the Q&A panel following the documentary, and take action in the sustainability movement visiting various sustainability fashion organizations after the event.

66 people participated in the Kent Green Energy Ohio Tour. The Kent Green Energy Ohio Tour will take place Sunday, Oct. 1, from 1-4 p.m. at multiple locations at Kent State University and in the city of Kent. This free, self-guided tour features green technologies, such as solar, green design, energy efficiency and green buildings.

KIC RECYCLEMANIA CARNIVAL/RECYCLEPALOOZA
Over 400 students participated in the Kent Interhall Council RecycleMania Carnival 2018 and 2019. There were 14 tables with recycling themed education and activities, food, photo booth, and raffle prizes.


Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Entered by Leah Graham 2/17/20


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