EMU recycling coordinator says the annual nationwide event provides an opportunity to 鈥渆ngage with the campus and community in more creative and enjoyable ways.鈥�

鈥淓ncouraging participation helps us increase awareness about the recycling program,鈥� Freed says, 鈥渁nd it helps remind people of the best recycling practices, as well as serving as a general reminder of the recycling resources available. 鈥�

This year鈥檚 RecycleMania also featured a competition within the campus, as Freed and crew member David Brennan conducted a weekly 鈥渨aste audit鈥� of each residence hall over a two-month period to see which one was keeping the most recyclables out of the trash. Brennan, who holds an MFA in creative writing, used a variety of prose and poetry in weekly emails to encourage student investment in the project.

The announcement of the winner, for example, stated that 鈥淐edarwood has been officially named the cream of the giant jug of milk that is EMU dorm life鈥� because, of course, it rose to the top. Cedarwood received a creative mural to 鈥渓iven up the wall鈥� of its recycling room as a prize.

鈥淓ver since I stepped foot on campus, I’ve wanted to do a waste audit,鈥� Freed says. 鈥淩ecycleMania presented an opportunity to do so and to add a fun competition between dorms at the same time. I wanted a clearer picture of what type and percentage of recyclables, compostables and re-usables were being thrown out in an effort to better evaluate our own effectiveness in capturing items that could be diverted from the landfill.鈥�

Freed says that despite EMU鈥檚 respectable numbers, he would like to see the campus improve in future years. He and Brennan were especially surprised by the amount of compostable food scraps they found in trash cans.

In all, about 350 schools competed this year in 13 categories of RecycleMania, which began in 2001. Richland College of Dallas, Texas, finished first in the 2016 competitive division with a recycling rate of 81.774 percent. The University of Missouri-Kansas City, New Mexico State University-Main Campus, Loyola Marymount University and Berkshire Community College rounded out the top five.

In Virginia, EMU was followed by the College of William and Mary (37.1% recycling rate), James Madison University (35.3%), the University of Virginia main campus (27.2%) and Virginia Tech (19.3%).

RecycleMania says the participating schools recycled or composted a combined 79.3 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials.

鈥淩ecycleMania provides us with an opportunity to heighten awareness about the importance of recycling among college students, and help make recycling participation a core component of the college experience,鈥� said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president/recycling for Keep America Beautiful, which manages the competition. 鈥淥ur hope is that these recycling behaviors stick with them throughout their life, creating a new generation of community stewards.鈥�

Prior to its and 2016 finishes, EMU finished twice as state runner-up.

As a Top Ten finisher, EMU was awarded the grand prize of a one-year license to equip two buildings on campus with competition sponsor 鈥檚 energy monitoring hardware and software.

The accomplishment was particularly notable. “As a first-time participant, EMU placed solidly in the top 10 reducers, consuming 21% less electricity in just three weeks,鈥� said Lucid CEO Vladi Shunturov. 鈥淭he commitment from EMU鈥檚 students and staff is truly inspiring.”

The win is 鈥渁n affirmation of the 草莓社区’s long-running commitment to reducing our school’s energy use,鈥� said campus sustainability coordinator .

The end result of the CCN competition not only raised awareness about individual consumer habits, but resulted in a substantial savings of resources and finances. The competition monitored 1,374 buildings used by approximately 345,000 student, faculty and staff, and reported a total savings of 1.9 million kilowatt hours, 394,000 gallons of water, and $290,000.

According to the CCN website, this is the equivalent of removing 182 homes from the grid for one year, saving 1.5 million one-liter bottles of water, and averting 2.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

CCN, in its fifth year, is hosted by the at the , Lucid, the and the .

Campus ‘climate’ contributes

From March 8-28, ten campus buildings were monitored for energy usage. Roselawn came out on top with a 40.2 percent reduction, followed by Maplewood (39.7 percent) and Elmwood (37.3), Hartzler Library (28) and Cedarwood (23.2).

The results make sense to Lantz-Trissel: such as Roselawn, and the LEED-certified dormitories 鈥渁re carefully designed to heat and cool efficiently in small zones, where older buildings have fewer thermostats and less flexibility and response to users or outside temperature changes.鈥�

However, plays a large role in this success. 鈥淲e also have a strong community ethic to conserve and care for creation, which means in a competition the community responds to the challenge to reduce energy or recycle and EMU usually outperforms our peer schools.鈥�

, whose job is to implement energy management, efficiency and sustainability measures as EMU鈥檚 building automation coordinator, had some idea of how competitive faculty, staff and residents were getting when he heard some voicing disappointment during March that 鈥渢heir building wasn鈥檛 doing better.鈥�

That bodes well for next year, Sachs said, when he plans to implement a social media campaign to raise awareness and get more people involved.

The competition also includes regional sub-competitions, such as the Big Ten Unplugged, the New York Negawatt Challenge, the California State University Conservation League, and the Campus ConseRVAtion Nationals, featuring three Richmond area schools.

Sachs hopes to invite Shenandoah Valley area universities and colleges to compete next year. He鈥檚 also pondering a friendly rivalry among Mennonite colleges.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to watch the influence of CCN continue to grow,鈥� said Chelsea Hodge, director of programs at Lucid. 鈥淓very year, more and more students and staff prove through CCN that they are committed to using behavior change tools to achieve short and long term reductions in their campuses鈥� carbon footprints.鈥�

Publicizing user habits

The grand prize of Lucid hardware and software will complement the monitoring system already present on campus, according to Sachs. Preliminary plans will enable a more public showcase of campus sustainability efforts, with television screens projecting constant data to building users.

鈥淲e were planning to place one monitor in the , which gets a lot of foot traffic and would be a nice feature for that building鈥檚 users,鈥� Sachs said, adding that he鈥檇 also like to track energy use and trends in the newly renovated building.

That feedback will help users adjust their behaviors, 鈥渕uch the same way a fitness monitoring app might help a person be more active, lose weight, or work to improve in a sport,鈥� says Lantz-Trissel. 鈥淏ut in just the same way as a fitness app, data monitoring is only so useful, and improvement is up to the habits and behaviors of the building’s occupants.鈥�

EMU has a history of engaging its competitive spirit towards sustainability efforts: the campus recently , and has .

Last year, the university was awarded a silver ranking by the , based on its sustainability initiatives in operations, curriculum, planning and other areas.

But not in 2015. This year, EMU surged to the top of the Virginia recycling competitors 鈥� regaining the crown it has previously held in 2008.

EMU , with a recycling rate of 45.025%, a 4% increase from last year.

鈥淭his is impressive, given that the field of competing schools has more than tripled in the past seven years,鈥� says EMU recycling coordinator . 鈥淭his win highlights that EMU is a leader in and among colleges and universities in the state of Virginia.鈥�

Freed works to collect recycling with the help of student volunteers and the , a mobilizing force on campus and in the Harrisonburg community since the 1970s. Recycling is . (This initiative was started by former recycling coordinator , now campus sustainability coordinator.)

During the eight-week competition promoting waste reduction in campus communities, schools reported recycling and trash data, which was then ranked according to recyclables per capita, amount of total recyclables, and least amount of combined trash and recycling, according to the organization鈥檚 website.

To compare with other regional schools, James Madison University finished 77th with a 39% recycling rate, University of Virginia (UVA) finished 119th with a 32% recycling rate, and Mary Baldwin College finished 226th with a 7% recycling rate.

Antioch University of Seattle, this year’s winner, finished with a recycling rate of 96.7%.

EMU was second behind The College of William and Mary in 2013 and 2014, and third behind William and Mary and UVA in 2012.

During the Recyclemania competition, the recycling team also hosts weekly competitions, from which are drawn six semi-finalist individuals to compete in the RecycleMania Olympithon Extravaganza Yes! The champion is chosen through a tripartite points system, comprised of scores accumulated through an obstacle course race, a recycling weight-guessing game, and consistency in participation over the eight-week competition. This year鈥檚 winner was Robert Propst.

For information on EMU鈥檚 sustainability efforts 鈥� including and 鈥� visit EMU鈥檚 .

EMU was among 173 schools nationwide named , based on commitments to greening every level of their operations 鈥� from energy usage to recycling to food sourcing to curriculum.

鈥淥ne of the things that makes EMU different is that sustainability at EMU is not just a grassroots effort,鈥� said professor in a recent interview with EMU news services. While there are certainly such efforts on campus, the commitment to sustainability has developed as a result of official EMU support.

Key step was staffing

The creation of a recycling coordinator position in 2005 was a big step along the way. , who held that position for five years until becoming EMU鈥檚 coordinator, worked to increase campus community awareness of recycling.

He started by tracking what EMU was already doing. He found the campus recycled about 20% of its waste. He and his work-study students introduced better signage about recycling, as well as new color-coded bins into residence halls, academic buildings and faculty offices to make proper waste disposal easy and convenient. Lantz-Trissel also included recycling education in the first-year orientation program. Now, nine years later, the percentage of waste that EMU recycles is closer to 50%.

As far as Lantz-Trissel knows, EMU is the only university that picks up recyclables entirely by bicycle. This came about through a cost-saving decision, he said, when the pickup truck used for recycling rounds needed a new clutch: 鈥淭o replace the clutch was going to be $650. I said that for $550 I鈥檒l get a bike and trailer and you can sell the truck.鈥�

Recycling by bicycle

EMU agreed to give recycling by bicycle a try, although his supervisor was skeptical that it would last more than six months.

鈥淓MU is the perfect size for using bikes and trailers,鈥� said current recycling crew leader . 鈥淭he geography of the campus also helps considerably.鈥�

Freed collects the majority of EMU’s recyclables from uphill sites, enabling him to coast down to where these need to be deposited for trucking away. 鈥淲e actually don鈥檛 carry any heavy loads uphill鈥t鈥檚 mainly just good brakes to keep the loads from running away from us,鈥� said Lantz-Trissel with a laugh.

The recycling crew consists of at least one work-study student who is always 鈥減assionate about what they are doing,鈥� said Lantz-Trissel. 鈥淭hey like getting on a bike and peddling around recycling.鈥�

Earthkeepers club

Besides the recycling work-study position, the heaviest student involvement with campus sustainability efforts comes from the environmental club .

鈥淲e get volunteers to collect compost from the cafeteria Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays,鈥� explained co-president and senior Melinda Norris.

鈥淵ou have to have people who are reliable,鈥� in order for collecting compost via volunteers to work, said Lantz-Trissel. 鈥淚 have never talked to another university who has students that have been that committed to composting鈥sually it ends up failing and people in the facilities end up handling it.鈥�

Other Earthkeepers projects include providing clotheslines in residence hall laundry rooms, sponsoring Food and Farming Week (a week of cafeteria meals in the fall based around local, in-season foods), and installing timers on the campus tennis courts that turn the lights on for a designated time-frame.

In the spring semester, Earthkeepers helps the recycling crew in 鈥�,鈥� an annual intercollegiate recycling competition. EMU has placed in the top 25% each year.

Presidential support

sits on the board of the and has signed the statement.

Recently, EMU became one of the first 25 institutions of higher education in 10 states to commit to 鈥�,鈥� aimed at reducing or eliminating the use or generation of hazardous substances.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the EMU community鈥檚 commitment to increased sustainability, though, is the .

鈥淓ach institution seeking reaffirmation of Accreditation is required to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP),鈥� states the website for the. 鈥淭he QEP describes a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue(s) related to enhancing student learning.鈥�

For EMU, that topic has been strengthening 鈥渃are for God鈥檚 creation by enhancing our knowledge, values, and actions鈥� and increasing 鈥渟ustainable practices at the university.鈥�

Campus-wide through QEP

The QEP 鈥渉elps spread sustainability to students who would not necessarily be drawn to that,鈥� said Yoder, a member of the Peace With Creation committee.

The plan moves sustainability beyond the committed students who are already on the bike collecting recyclables and in the cafeteria helping with composting. The plan invites the community as a whole to participate, with the faculty encouraged to weave sustainability lessons and themes through their curricula as much as possible.

Students are urged to bicycle or walk instead of driving locally. In recent years, they鈥檝e help tend the university鈥檚 five beehives, four produce gardens, and dozens of fruit trees, with the results sometimes ending up in .

For information on the full range of EMU鈥檚 sustainability efforts 鈥� including solar energy panels and LEED-certified residence halls 鈥� visit EMU鈥檚 .

“Recyclemania is a good reminder to folks each year that what we do with our waste is very important,” said Matthew Freed, EMU recycling crew leader. “We’ve been very consistent over the past five years, recycling roughly 38-40 percent of our waste.”

During the competition, schools reported recycling and trash data, which was then ranked according to who collected the largest amount of recyclables per capita, who collected the largest amount of total recyclables, and who created the least amount of trash per capita or had the highest recycling rate.

EMU recycled 38.78 percent of its trash, finishing behind William & Mary (54.44 percent) in the state competition. EMU was also the runner-up to Guilford College in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, as Guilford recycled 59.56 percent of its trash, placing 22nd in the nation.

Freed said EMU is also the only higher-education institution to collect its recycling by bicycle — “roughly 60 tons of recyclables and 25 tons of compost each year,” according to Freed.

EMU finished 68th out of 274 schools. Among area schools, James Madison recycled 23.64 percent, placing 177th.

More information on Recyclemania can be found at: .

“Recyclemania brings some friendly competition between colleges and universities, and in the end, can help spark renewed interest and dialogue in how we recycle and reduce waste,” said , EMU recycling crew leader.

During the competition, schools reported recycling and trash data, which was then ranked according to who collected the largest amount of recyclables per capita, who collected the largest amount of total recyclables, and who created the least amount of trash per capita or had the highest recycling rate.

EMU recycled 38.43 percent of its trash, finishing behind William & Mary (19, 54.44 percent) and the University of Virginia (53, 42.26 percent). Guilford College led Old Dominion Athletic Conference schools, recycling 43.27 percent of its trash.

Among area schools, James Madison recycled 25.44 percent, placing 157.

Freed said EMU has averaged between 38-40 percent recycled waste over the past four years.

Katie Jantzen, co-president of , a student group focused on environmentally friendly practices such as recycling, composting and reducing waste, said the way EMU picks up its recyclables is unique to other schools.

“To my knowledge, EMU is the only school to collect all of our recyclables by bicycle trailer,” said Jantzen. “I think it’s noteworthy that we do not use any fossil fuels in the collection of recyclables around campus.”

For more information visit .

The video was created for the National Wildlife Federation’s Chill Out contest. See more at: www.gogreentube.com/groups/NWFChillOUt2010-2011

EMU placed 28th in the “waste minimization” category out of 510 colleges and universities in a nationwide recycling challenge called “Recylemania” held during spring semester.

That percentage “is the most comprehensive indicator of how well a school manages its waste, as it inherently includes any reducing and reusing of waste material in addition to recycling,” according to Jonathan Lantz-Trissel, recycling and waste reduction coordinator at EMU.

Jonathan Lantz-Trissel makes his regular rounds of campus, using a custom-built bike and specially-designed trailer to collect recyclables.

Lantz-Trissel described Recyclemania as “a friendly, 10-week competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.”

During the competition, schools reported recycling and trash data, which was then ranked according to who collected the largest amount of recyclables per capita, who collected the largest amount of total recyclables, and who created the least amount of trash per capita or had the highest recycling rate.

EMU placed 33rd overall in the Grand Champions category, recycling 40.02% of its solid waste, reported Lantz-Trissel, recycling and waste reduction coordinator at EMU. That percentage “is up from 33.94% over last year, a marked improvement since more schools took part in the competition this year,” he noted. Read about last year’s competition and the award EMU earned…

As an added ecologically-friendly effort, Lantz-Trissel and student assistants use a custom-built bike, which pulls an specially-designed 8-foot trailer, to 24 recycling points on campus every week. The metal trailer can haul about 300 pounds at a time.

“I’m still trying to get bonus points for being the only school to not use fossil fuels to collect our recycling on campus,” Lantz-Trissel said. “Maybe we’ll get some special recognition in future competitions.”

EMU-branded cloth shopping bags, first made available in December, are now on sale in Common Grounds coffeehouse for only $7.

The idea of reusable bags grew out of regular meetings of the “Recycling, Reducing, and Transportation” task force of EMU’s fast-growing Creation Care Council.

The sturdy bags are made from 80 percent recycled cotton and 20 percent recycled plastic bottles. Each bag features an EMU original design.

Community members first purchased bags from Creation Care Council members after chapel on Wednesday, Dec. 12 and outside the dining hall until early afternoon.

By the end of the work day, only a handful of bags were left and plans for an additional order were already underway.

Send questions or order requests to greenbags@emu.edu.

EMU students and Cyndi Gusler, a professor at EMU, put on the Winter 2007 Collection of Reclaimed Fashion, otherwise known as the “trash fashion show”.

Click here for more photos!

Cyndi Gusler’s pants crinkle as she walks. But with pink feathers in her hair and plastic bags around her wrists, who would ever notice?

Her Technicolor getup practically blends into the crowd.

It’s Thursday night and Gusler, a professor at EMU, is backstage at The Winter 2007 Collection of Reclaimed Fashion, otherwise known as her final exam.

She and a dozen students organized the event to show off a semester’s work turning high fashion on its head.

Gusler’s capris, fashioned from the paper packaging of teabags, were one of nearly 50 “recycled” outfits featured in the fashion show.

Haute Couture vs. Trash

It’s either haute couture or trash, depending on how you look at it.

Most of the pieces modeled Thursday were bizarre (plastic bottle headpieces, window-blind dresses, Christmas tree tinsel pants). Yet, some are passable as street attire (a duct-tape top, remarkably, and at least two dresses that have lived former lives as shower curtains).

Sure, it’s weird. But, can’t the same be said for spending the thousands of dollars it costs to own the latest bag, dress, jacket, whatever?

Gusler’s class challenges consumerism head-on.

“This class is about so much more than fashion,” student and designer Mattie Horning said. “People just use and use and use. It’s all about consumption. This class has taught me to look at my closet in a different way.”

See photos from the fashion show!

Horning, a sophomore, recruited two or three friends to model her designs and wore one herself Thursday night. A pair of “old man’s running shorts” were redesigned into a skirt.

“I just painted over the ugly ’80s pattern,” she said.

Horning twisted an old T-shirt into a top and knitted hand warmers to complete the outfit.

“I can take what I have and make it better,” Horning says.

Megan Good, a senior in the class, made her dress from purple burlap, leftovers from a wall covering.

“I just started with the fabric and saw how it moves, like any designer would,” Good explains.

She finished the creation with matching purple duct tape.

“Duct tape is amazing. You can find it in almost any color,” she explained.

Gusler is thrilled.

“I am so impressed with their innovation. They have so many ideas,” she says after the show. “Our emcee had to literally staple his pants, ones made of garbage bags, onto himself moments before the show.”

Standing Room Only

The audience apparently was impressed, too. The sold-out event drew hundreds to the university. Dozens were turned away from the door.

“It’s amazing that so many people came,” Horning says. “This is all about sustainable style and the choices we all make. Trash can look pretty hot.”

Be green this Christmas season with EMU-branded cloth shopping bags, available beginning Wednesday, Dec. 12, for only $7.

The idea of reusable bags grew out of regular meetings of the “Recycling, Reducing, and Transportation” task force of EMU’s fast-growing Creation Care Council.

The sturdy bags are made from 80 percent recycled cotton and 20 percent recycled plastic bottles. Each bag features an EMU original design.

Community members purchased bags from Creation Care Council members after chapel on Wednesday, Dec. 12 and outside the dining hall until early afternoon.

By the end of the work day, only a handful of bags were left and plans for an additional order were already underway.

Task force members hope to sell the bags at Common Grounds coffeehouse during the spring 2008 academic semester.

Send questions or order requests to Matt Styer at greenbags@emu.edu.