Wellesley College
ER-2: Student Sustainability Outreach Campaign

The Sustainability Month Energy Competition is an inter-dormitory complex energy reduction contest held throughout the month of October (Sustainability Month at Wellesley) since 2007. This competition is coordinated by the student organization Wellesley Energy and Environmental Defense (WEED) and supported by the Office of Sustainability. Wellesley College began participating in the national Recyclemania in 2006. It participates specifically in the Per Capita Competition, and has recently begun competing to reduce Targeted Materials as well. Coal Action Week was a campaign established by the Wellesley Chapter of Students for a Just and Stable Future, which is an organization pushing for better climate change legislation on a state and national level. During Coal Action Week they set up a table and asked students and staff to call state and federal representatives and urge them to support coal regulations. The Office of Sustainability has developed a program in which students moving out of their dorms who no longer want their good quality/reusable dorm items donate them to the sustainable move-out program. Items collected during move-out are sold back at a significantly cheaper price to students moving in during the following semester. Funds collected during this program go towards sustainability projects on campus. Over 14,000 pounds of clothing alone was recycled and donated to Big Brothers Big Sister. We also filled a 40 foot by 8ft by 8 ft container of dorm essentials.

The annual energy competition raises student awareness about the small changes they can make in their personal lifestyle. It is also an effective way to get freshmen involved in environmental activities on campus. Through Recyclemania, the College has noticed an increase in its recycling per capita by 3.5% and has placed in the top fifth of all schools participating in the Per Capita Competition. All of the sustainability entities involved in coordinating Recyclemania involve the entire community on campus including faculty, staff, and students. This is especially important because the competition brings diverse departments, community groups, and students together. Recyclemania and the intra-campus energy competition offers these students the opportunity to get excited and organized about sustainability. It is largely through their efforts that these events reach the overall campus. Coal Action Week encouraged a greater understanding of the wider Wellesley College community of the ways to make change in terms of climate change legislation, as well as educating students, staff and faculty on different climate change issues from a localized perspective. Sustainable Move In/Move Out has created awareness around campus and the highest level of participation in a sustainability movement. This campaign has significantly reduced waste, and gets the community excited about waste reduction. They can see tangibly through their efforts that they can make their environment a better and more sustainable place to live.

For more current Recyclemania data: http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/university_detail08.asp?ID=1555