What is Recyclemania and how did it get started?

Recylcemania is a non-profit organization that is made up by a board of directors and also sustainability managers from Universities all across the country. Recyclemania started in 2001 when a simple challenge between two universities from Miami and Ohio drew a spark. The challenge was simply who could recycle the most during the 10-week period.  Miami was the winning school with approximately 41.2 pounds collected per person, with Ohio having about 32. 6 pounds collected per person.  The year after, more schools were invited and participated in the event and it has been a success ever since. With this success, Recyclemania has accumulated numerous sponsors such as The Coca Cola Company, SCA Tissue, Alcoa Foundation and the American Forest and Paper Association.

Why is there a Desire?

There are many colleges out there that do recycling programs that can be very educational and get many students involved. But yet, there are very challenging tasks to get more students and even staff involved in those programs. So Recyclemania’s idea was an instant success when it could bring many universities together and be competitive at the same time not through sports, but through recycling.  With many schools participating, the opportunity to spread awareness about Recyclemania is at an all-time high. The goal for Recylemania is to bring awareness to these college kids just how important recycling at a younger age can be so they can carry out these habits for the rest of their lives.

How do I get involved?

All Universities in the United States and Canada are all eligible for the competition. Each school is responsible for their own collection of recyclables and there is no cost to joining the Recyclemania Tournament.

For more information, the Recyclemania website is listed below for you to check out!

recyclemaniacs.org

Have you ever finished your dinner and had some left over plastics, but chose not to recycle them? Did you just think, why bother?

Some people are under the impression that recycling doesn’t make a difference, or that it all ends up going to the same place, but that is a myth.  Furthermore, there are some great things being done with some of your recycled materials that you may not know about.

First, check out this video showing how a real recycling center works.  It shows the line where recycling is sorted into different categories, and trash is pulled out.  Clearly, everything there is not going to the same place.  It’s actually all being carefully sorted and placed for recycling in the correct manner.  Some fun facts, not everything that you probably think is recyclable, is actually recyclable.  For example, did you know that plastics and cardboard contaminated by leftover food cannot be recycled? Most people have no idea!

How Does a Recycling Center Work?

So what ends up being done with the plastics and other recyclables that you use? Well, sometimes they are used to make other goods and consumables.  For example, a lot of containers are made from recycled plastics.  The same holds true with a lot of other recyclable materials.

What you probably haven’t heard of is some of the other exciting recycling advances that are being made today.

Every time you hold something that is made of plastic, in a way it is kind of like you are holding oil! Oil from the Earth is put through chemical processes to make plastic products.  Unfortunately, there is only so much oil in the Earth.  The reason this should concern you is that we have to make the best of the fuels and plastics we have now, because we are using up our natural resources at an alarming rate!

Luckily, scientists have developed a new way that we can be more efficient.  They have found a way to recycle used plastic goods, such as plastic bags (which are normally very inefficient to recycle), into diesel and other fuels!  Not only are we not putting otherwise useless plastic bags in landfills, but we are getting a valuable resource from an efficient process.  The conversion ends up producing more energy than it takes to complete the process, preventing some needless waste!

Check out the article about the advances being made!

Plastic shopping bags make a fine diesel fuel

Really, the key in general is not only to recycle, but to use less in the first place.  Cut down on “one-use” plastics, and save our resources for future generations!

Some of you may be wondering what Earth Initiative’s plans are for the spring semester, after a cold and blustery winter!  We have a lot of great ideas for new events this semester, as well as bringing back a few that we know all of you enjoyed in the past.

On Wednesday, April 23^rd, for example, we will be holding the second annual Recyclable Fashion Show in the Timmerman Atrium at 4pm!  If you didn’t attend last year, organizations from around campus come to work in groups.  Each group makes an outfit out of recyclables, and one person from your group gets to model it.  The outfits are judged, and the winners get prizes in different categories such as creativity!  Remember to check this out, and bring your org or reshall!

Throughout the semester, we will be tabling in the UC, at basketball games, and at other locations around campus as well! We’ll be handing out free stuff, playing games, and of course providing useful information about how you can be more sustainable, so keep an eye out for us.

One new project for this semester will be a sustainable Instagram competition.  If you see something sustainable around campus or even back home,  take a picture or a video using Instagram! At the end of the semester, we will award the winners in various categories free prizes.  Remember to tell your friends or your organizations about this.

If your org might be interested in collaborating on an event with Earth Initiative, please send our Facebook page (Sustainability at UW-Whitewater) a message, and we’ll get right back to you!

A lot of people think that renewable energy may be a distant pipe dream looking at our society today.  Cars, trucks, and other vehicles constantly burn fossil fuels and pump out harmful gases into the atmosphere.  Electricity is still mostly produced from burning coal and other non-renewable sources.  Our energy sources are far from sustainable.

However, a lot of experts say that a sustainable society isn’t far off.  Some civil engineers and city planners have speculated that the United States could convert their infrastructure to be able to gather the vast majority of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030.  Canada, after all, has already achieved this feat.  Canada now uses wind turbines, hydroelectric generators, and other renewable sources to achieve over a 60% rate of renewable electricity generation.

Those same experts say that even in metropolitan areas that aren’t thought of as “windy areas” could be completely self-sustaining in the coming decades through wind turbines alone.  The United States does not need to wait to start making the switch.

Many European countries have been very successful in reducing fossil fuel consumption through the use of financial incentives.  Germany, for example, incentivizes both individuals and businesses for reducing their carbon footprint and fuel use.

With a concerted effort, it is possible by 2030 that the only use for natural gas and other fossil fuels in electricity production is in case of emergency.  It goes to show that taking steps towards being sustainable CAN make an impact, and WILL in your lifetime.

-David Zindler

What you eat is your business, but so is what you choose to recycle, and how much energy you decide to use.  When you sit down for a meal and enjoy a juicy burger or sizzling steak, you might not have considered what impact on the environment the environment your beef may have had.  Meat consumption in the United States is going down based on a per person average, but Americans still consume twice the USDA daily recommended amount of meat.  While I enjoy beef as much as the next person,  it is important to consider that it may not sustainable in the long run as the population continues to grow.  There are several threats that raising livestock poses to the environment. Foremost, is deforestation.

Think about it this way.  The Earth has been around for an estimated 4.6 billion years. If you scaled that to 45 years, humans have only been on Earth for 4 hours of that time, and the industrial revolution only began 1 minute ago out of 45 years.   Yet in that time we have managed to destroy over 50% of the world’s forests, and much of that has been to clear land for agriculture and cattle.

Another potential issue is that cattle produce greenhouse gasses!  You may not want to imagine it, but huge cattle farms where your food comes from are massive sources of pollution  as cows and other animals “pass gas”.   In just the last 250 years, the concentration of those gases in the atmosphere has increased as much as 150%, with cattle representing an estimated 18% of that pollution.

As the food productivity of land fails to keep up with the population growth in the United States and elsewhere, it’s important to consider the impact that your diet has on the environment.

On the International Space Station, astronauts could drink and shower with the same water for well over a year before they would be forced to get water from another ship.  That raises the question, why are most of us so wasteful with water in our everyday life?

Being sustainable while saving money at the same time is something we can all get behind. In our everyday lives, there are many opportunities for us to make sustainable choices. One of these ways is through the conservation of water.  Simply turning off your faucet while brushing your teeth, cutting back on shower times, and waiting until the dishwasher is full are all easy ways that we can reduce our water usage at home or in student housing. Rainwater can also be collected and reused to irrigate gardens or other landscaping. During the hot summer months, this can be especially important. Rainfall can also be filtered to remove pollutants, leaving the water potable (drinkable).  These minor changes can end up meaning savings on your water bills, but what else makes water conservation and filtration so important?

Water filtration is an increasingly important factor in countries that do not have easy access to drinkable water. Many times, drinkable water is used for non-potable reasons such as watering plants. However, non-potable water cannot be used to drink due to pollutants present in the water. Discovering ways that we can better collect, conserve, and filter water can mean great benefits for all of us.

Have you ever been behind the Wells Towers, and seen the large prairie down the road?  Have you ever wondered what it is, or why it is there? What that area actually is, is a nature preserve where the campus is making efforts to restore native prairie species.

About 15,000 years ago, two small glacial formations (Drumlins) formed there and created the 110 acre area that you see today.  There are lots of trails you can hike, but the area in and of itself is quite interesting.  Each week, staff and students go into the prairie and collect seeds from the native species.  Before winter, those seeds are spread out to areas where we hope to expand the prairie to, and to promote biodiversity.

The area has grown rapidly since the restoration project began, and the prairie is thriving.  It is not only plant species that this restoration benefits either!  Pictured below is the Upland Plover. This rare bird is one of 8 species currently being considered for “endangered” status by the state of Wisconsin.  However, one of these birds was recently spotted in the prairie, and this has gained attention from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Below, you can see the bird, as well as several of the plant species that are commonly found in the prairie.  Don’t forget, you can always help! The UW-Whitewater Earth Initiative, SAGE, and other orgs come to help collect seeds every Friday morning at 10am, and you can too!  Not only is it fun and sustainable, but you can get volunteer hours for your efforts!

Check out this video below, which shows what one of these prairie seed collections looks like, and provides some more insights as to the purpose of collecting and seeding the prairie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3f9LB-_zQA

Pictured (left to right): Upland Plover, Rattlesnake Master, Showy Goldenrod

When many students hear “sustainability” they probably think “recycling” or maybe even just turning off the lights when they leave a room.  While those things are sustainable acts, sustainability encompasses much more.  Many campuses around the country, including UW-Whitewater, are starting measures to become sustainable.  Even better, they are doing so in creative ways.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy, for example, thought outside of the solar panel when it came to producing renewable energy on campus.  While many campuses have at least some solar panels producing energy for their students, this school has taken to installing wind turbines on campus.  Currently, the school saves over $160,000 per year in energy costs due to the wind turbine energy output, and that was just from their first turbine!  They plan to install many more in the future.

Wisconsin’s own Ripon College found another creative solution to the burning of fossil fuels.  Due to concerns about the pollution of students with cars (and parking concerns) Ripon College instituted a brand new program where incoming college freshman get a free bike, bike lock, and helmet if they pledge to use them instead of driving to class!  The College even received donations from local businesses so that it costs the school little to nothing.

Many colleges, including UW-Whitewater, are strongly supporting ride-share programs as well!  These can be as simple as a web page organized by the school, where commuting students (or those who are just going home for the weekend) post where they need to go, where they are already driving, and how many open seats they have.  Not only does this drastically cut down on the number of cars and the roads, and therefor emissions, but it also gives everyone somebody to talk to on those long, boring drives back home!

As you can see, there is much more to sustainability than just recycling.  These are just a few of the creative ways that some schools are encourages their students to protect the Earth for future generations.

-David

Filabot: Changing Plastics

Have you heard of 3D printing?  Basically, it works much in the same way as an inkjet printer.  However, instead of ink it uses plastic, and obviously prints in 3 dimensions.  This offers the average person endless opportunities.  The amateur inventor no longer has to look for a manufacturer to make their prototype.  They can simply print it out on their desk.

3D printing also offers exciting opportunities for society as a whole.  Some suggest that in the future, whole houses could be 3D printed in under 20 hours!  3D modular homes could be used to replace rundown slums in inner cities.  Medical products have been made available to poor areas because of the inexpensive 3D manufacturing process as well.

A new product, called the Filabot, is looking to make 3D printing look like an even more enticing option.  This product allows you to take your recyclable plastics (numbers 1-7) and melt them down right in your own home.  The device fits on a desktop, and produces the plastic filament used in the 3D printing process.  In theory, one could take their old milk jugs, turn them into an exciting new product, and melt the result down again if you aren’t satisfied.

The project, which is run by a 20 year old entrepreneur, is still in its infancy.  The first consumer units are now shipping, and new models are in development that increase convenience and efficiency.  In the future, it is entirely possibly that all of our recyclables can be reused in the home to make other needed items around the house.

This device allows you to take your ideas and turn them into reality using resources you otherwise were just putting in the recycling bin.

Here is a video of a small prototype in action!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=712nrXmdkIg

-David

It’s that time of the year again! The crisp smell of fall in the air; orange, yellow, red, and brown are becoming the primary colors. Now that you have gotten into the groove of school and work, it’s time to get a breath of fresh air and clear your mind before midterms come barreling in.
Where do I go? What do I do?
Well, let me tell you!
The Kettle Moraine State Forest has over 22,000 acres of hills, valleys, ponds, and lakes that are open for you to explore. It’s a great place that is always changing with the seasons!
This enchanting state park begins in Walworth County and extends through Kewaunee County. Created by the Greenbay Lobe and the Lake Michigan Lobe of the glacier, the Kettle Moraine has unique features that many other states do not have. These unique features include valleys ranging from three to 200 feet in depth, small ponds, large lakes, and hills up to 300 feet high.
The DNR has given you 160 miles of trails that allow you to see these wonderful features. One of the many nature trails include a short half mile trail up to one of the highest points in Jefferson County.

Not only that, but the Bald Bluff Nature Trail also used to be a former Native American signal hill. You can grab your horse and ride it around the Kettle Moraine for 87 miles also. Finally, don’t forget the beautiful Ice Age Trail!  If backpacking or hiking is your thing, then this trail is the premier destination for you! It stretches throughout Wisconsin for more than 1,000 miles, and goes right past Whitewater!

If neither of these peak your interests, don’t worry! Go ahead and canoe, go boating, fish, kayak, hunt and trap, practice target shooting, and go camping. Once the fluffy white snow begins to fall and the temperature drops, break out your cross-country skis, snow shoes, snowmobile, and ice fishing gear and head on over to the Kettle Moraine.

Go and make some memories today!

-Katie Barker