Kent State University receives two first place awards from the National Wildlife Federation for recycling programs

The National Wildlife Federation recognized campus efforts at Kent State University to promote recycling and strive for zero waste with two first-place awards through the 2021 Campus Race to Zero Waste competition (formerly known as Recycle Mania). Kent State won the top prize in the Zero Waste category, competing against other large campuses across the U.S., and in the Electronics Recycling category, measuring total pounds of electronics recycled. Waste collected from three buildings on the Kent, OH campus totalled over 41,000 pounds, and the electronics waste collected and recycled from over 413 people amounted to over 38,000 pounds. Members of the custodial staff and individual residence halls were recognized for their contributions, as well, by the Kent State Office of Sustainability.

Manager of Sustainability at Kent State University, Melanie Knowles, said in a news release from the university that she appreciates the recognition from the National Wildlife Federation. "It is an honor for Kent State to achieve these wins, and the credit goes to everyone who has made an effort to be conscious of their waste and recycling. We know that this doesn't just happen during the competition. Our community is striving toward zero waste year-round."

The national competition invites colleges and universities to participate in efforts to reduce waste, while also establishing benchmarks for campuses across the country. With the competition lasting eight weeks (January 31 to March 27), the benefits of the efforts to recycle are found not only in the ability to reuse recycled materials, but also in the decrease in waste materials in the environment. As Kim Martinez, vice president of education and engagement programs at the National Wildlife Federation, explains, "By reducing their waste, these campuses have decreased the amount of trash entering our waterways and the negative impacts this has on wildlife and ecosystems."

The news release also provided details about the Campus Race to Zero Waste campaign on campus. For the Electronics Recycling portion of the competition, Kent State's Office of Sustainability organized four drop-off events during the spring semester, open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. In the end, 413 people brought in electronics for recycling, which were then brought to an R2 certified recycler for processing. Knowles commented, "The crew at University Facilities Management has done an outstanding job building on the electronics recycling days each year. It is gratifying to see the impact of the university and the community contributing to keeping these materials out of the landfill."

The Zero Waste category, new to Kent State University this year, yielded a total waste collection of 41,392.65 pounds of food organics, recyclables, reusable materials, and trash from three buildings. The materials were collected from the Design Innovation Hub, Engleman Hall, and the University Library. Knowles noted, "It is very exciting to have these three buildings' efforts in waste minimization recognized. And the Design Innovation Hub used this opportunity as they moved into their new space to address waste diversion from their many lab spaces."

Additionally, the university hosted twelve events on campus concerning reuse education. One event challenged residence halls to try to create the least amount of waste. A Custodial Award was also created, which recognized twelve custodians with certificates, letters, and prizes for their efforts. 

President of Campus Race to Zero Waste, Stacy Wheeler, applauded the successful collaboration across the country. "Faculty, staff and students at participating Campus Race to Zero Waste colleges and universities, once again, have shown new innovations in combating the huge amounts of packaging, food and material products that are traditionally sent to nearby landfills or incinerators. We are proud that the competition gives college participants an outlet to showcase better solutions to reducing campus waste and promoting recycling each year."

According to the results posted by Campus Race to Zero Waste, the competition led to nearly 3 million students and staff cooperating across many campuses to keep 230 million plastic containers out of landfills and prevented over 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E) from entering the atmosphere with 28.5 million pounds of waste being donated, recycled, and composted.