University met RecycleMania goals, Earth Month events a success

Earlier this year, UNC Charlotte competed in the national RecycleMania competition, involving 300 colleges in 43 states. The RecycleMania competition results were released recently. This year, UNC Charlotte composted or recycled 69.5 million pounds of waste, and 300 million single-use plastic bottles were collected during the competition.

The University’s main goal was to divert at least 28 percent of waste from ending up in landfills. Official results confirm that the University met that goal by diverting 28.56 percent, an almost three percent increase from last year. The University also ranked the highest of all participating UNC System schools in the category for recycling plastic bottles and aluminum cans by collecting 24,292 pounds.

Additionally, the University collected 41,982 pounds of cardboard and 50,915 pounds of paper during the eight-week competition.

Earth Month activities also proved successful with rises in participation and volunteerism. To kick off the month, 145 trees were planted by 80 volunteers, furthering the University’s Tree Campus USA designation. That is a sizable increase from the 50 trees by 12 volunteers in 2018.

The bi-annual campus cleanup event also saw a boost in participation. This year included about 140 volunteers who collected 261 pounds of landfill waste, over 85 pounds of recyclable waste and 47 pounds of miscellaneous waste from around the campus.

Finally, an electronic waste and professional attire collection closed out the month with dozens of articles of clothing and about 100 pounds of e-waste collected for refurbishment or donation.