Although USM has participated in the project in the past, it was at a much lower level. This is a big year, according to Tyler Kidder, the assistant director of sustainable programs and facilities management. The sustainability and energy programs were once overseen by one person working part time, but this year those departments have Kidder, Will Dunlay, the director of energy and utilities and Steve Sweeney, resource and recovery supervisor, at their disposal.
With the added help of an increased number of interns and work-study students this year, the participation in and awareness of RecycleMania and recycling in general at USM has increased greatly, according to Kidder. Based on current results from RecycleMania, USM has increased its waste minimization from 2.35 pounds per person to 14.04 pounds per person, so more is being recycled rather than thrown away.
Since about 85 percent of USM students are commuters, Kidder said it can be difficult to raise awareness. Some steps the school has taken to increase awareness are posting signs to remind students to recycle. Also the blue bins, which are new this year, separate recyclable materials from trash in a more convenient and streamlined fashion. This could be beneficial to the university considering it has single-stream recycling, meaning everything that can be recycled (paper, glass, plastic, metal, etc.) is compacted together, allowing the school to recycle even more.
Kidder said single-stream recycling makes recycling more streamlined and allows for more material to be recycled. “Roughly 80 percent of waste at USM could be recycled,” he said.
Although USM has to pay to run the compactors on the Portland and Gorham campuses, it’s free to dump the recycled compacted materials at EcoMaine, a non-profit waste management company located in Portland. Recycling saves USM money since they have to pay for dumping compacted trash.
Students interested in getting involved with sustainability and energy management at USM have several options they can choose from to best suit their interests. Options range from studying environmental science to taking part in the Renewable Energy Club. Students should visit http://usm.maine.edu/sustainability/get-involved for more information. Work-study positions and internships are also available.
“It is important for students to become involved and seek change themselves,” said Kidder. She said the school is more likely to see that change if students are the ones showing an interest.