University of Rochester
EN-5: Outreach Campaign

RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an 8-week period each spring, colleges across the United States and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and are in turn ranked in various categories based on who recycles the most on a per capita basis, as well as which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and which schools generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling. With each week’s updated ranking, participating schools follow their performance against other colleges and use the results to rally their campus to reduce and recycle more.

The University of Rochester did well in many categories, coming in 28th out of 207 schools in the Per Capita Classic and averaging 27.4 lbs. of recycling per person. Ranking 32nd out of 308 schools, the University also did well in the Gorilla category recycling and composting a net total of 553,562 lbs., an impressive number considering the University’s relative size. Finally, in the Grand Champion category, the University of Rochester had a 32% recycling rate, ranking 124th out of 232 schools. The competition also generated effects more difficult to measure, such as the motivation of students, faculty, and staff to make sustainable choices and the promotion of campus awareness about sustainability issues.

In October of 2014, University Parking and Transportation Services launched a marketing program named UR Connections to inform people about transportation alternatives available at the University. UR Connections divides these alternatives in three different categories: “Get a Ride”, “Share a Ride”, and “Skip a Ride”.

Nearly 1000 individuals signed up for the Zimride (Carpool / Vanpool) within the first two months of the implementation. (Distribution: Undergraduates – 38.5%, Graduates – 12.6%, Faculty/Staff – 48.9%). Environmental / Economic Impacts (based on 20% utilization): User Cash Saved - $18,821 · Miles Saved – 26,015 · Gallons of Gas Saved – 1,310 · CO2 Emissions Saved (lbs.) – 21,270 · VOC Emissions Saved (grams) – 11,651 · Nitrogen Oxides Saved (grams) – 12,920 · CO Emissions Saved (lbs.) – 264 · Particulate Matter Emissions Saved (grams) – 5,235 · Sulfur Dioxide Emissions Saved (grams) – 1,705

Mt. Trashmore is an event held every year during Recylemania where trash is gathered from three of the most visited areas on campus and put on display in front of Wilson Commons for students to see how much trash they generate during the day. This event leads students to be more aware of what they are throwing out and hopefully leads to more recycling and reuse of items before they throw them out. Another event that takes place on campus is UR Unplugged. For three weeks in February, students battled it out during UR Unplugged to determine which residence building would post the largest drop in energy consumption. They turned off lights, shut down monitors, and unplugged cell phone chargers. Those small changes resulted in dramatic reductions in the amount of energy consumed when compared to the same period last year. Some dorms reduced their energy consumption by up to 20% compared to the energy consumption during the same time period of the previous year. Dump and Run serves to reduce the massive amounts of unnecessary waste that would typically result from student move-out each year. It covers essentially everything else, from dorm furniture to used appliances. Grassroots then resells these items in the fall semester to students who can use them and anything not sold goes to charity. Clothing Exchange is a program by Grassroots that allows students to come and pick out clothes that have been donated in the past in exchange for donating their own old clothes.