Campus Race to Zero Waste 

Campus Race to Zero Waste, formerly 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 eight-week period, schools report recycling and trash data which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. With each week’s reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more. For more information about the structure and rules of the competition and the various contests, visit the Campus Race to Zero Waste website.

How to Get Involved

Here are some steps you can take to boost recycling on campus:

 Brush up on best practices. Did you know Drexel practices single-stream recycling? No need to sort your paper from plastic – it all goes to the same place. Visit drexel.edu/recycling for information and resources on what is (and is not) recycled at Drexel, how and where to recycle various materials, and how recyclables are processed.

 Tell your friends. Print out our Drexel Recycling Guide [PDF] for your office, residence hall, trash room, common area, etc., and encourage others to recycle items they may not have realized were recyclable.

 Surrender your trashcan! Keep recycling bins handy but move trashcans to a centralized area in your office or residence hall. Forcing yourself (and your colleagues) to walk farther to throw something away increases the likelihood you'll opt for recycling.

 Start spring cleaning early. Take this opportunity to de-clutter and properly dispose of unwanted items you’ve been meaning to recycle for weeks. The more you recycle during the next eight weeks, the better Drexel's numbers will be.

 Come to a Collection Event. Details below!

Collection Events

Real Estate and Facilities will host a collection event on all three Philadelphia campuses. Electronics, computer equipment*, old and used up toner and ink cartridges and batteries of all kinds will be accepted for recycling at the following dates, times and locations.

Center City

• Where: New College Building, Geary Lobby
• When: Tuesday, March 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Queen Lane

• Where: Outside the main entrance in front of the flagpole
• When: Wednesday, March 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

University City

• Where: Inside the Recreation Center, 33rd and Market Streets
• When: Thursday, March 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

* The only way to ensure data stored on a hard drive is properly deleted is to overwrite it with pseudorandom numbers using a program called DBAN (see Drexel IT DBAN FAQ. For assistance with disk sanitization, contact your local IT support or reach out to consult@drexel.edu. Drexel Facilities will be accepting old computers and other electronic devices for recycling at its three collection events, but it is the department's responsibility to ensure the hard drive is properly deleted. Drexel Facilities will not accept any devices for recycling that have not been properly and securely wiped.

At all events, look for pallets and personnel to help load your electronics.

Campus Race to Zero Waste's Goals

• Motivate students and staff to increase recycling efforts and reduce waste generation.
• Generate attention and support for campus recycling programs.
• Encourage colleges to measure and benchmark recycling activity in their effort to improve their programs over time.
• Have a fair and friendly competition.

Other Methods of Recycling Disposal

You don't have to wait until Campus Race to Zero Waste to recycle your electronics! Larger quantities can be sold by Drexel Surplus throughout the year.

Contact

For more information on Campus Race to Zero Waste and general questions about Drexel's recycling program, email recycle@drexel.edu. For questions about climate and sustainability efforts throughout the year, contact sustainability@drexel.edu.