Waste Reduction & Recycling Awarded

NC State University has won the Outstanding University Program for its Waste Reduction & Recycling efforts.

Given each year to a college or university in the Carolinas region, the award honors the Waste Reduction & Recycling Office at NC State as an outstanding university program that promotes sustainable resource use through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling on a college campus. The awards were presented during CRA’s 20th Annual Conference in March 2010.

Accolades received at the conference included recognition for the University’s Waste Reduction and Recycling in-house operations, collaboration with departments across campus to help run long lasting programs, such as WE Recycle, America Recycles Day, Recyclemania, and the Pack-N-Go program.

“Our office was honored to receive this award on behalf of the University,” says Nessa Stone, Operations Manager for Waste Reduction and Recycling. “The success of our programs and services can be attributed to the dedication and interest of the campus community. With their support we will continue to grow and expand our programs, making waste reduction a priority and recycling more accessible.”

The Waste Reduction & Recycling Office was recognized for work on projects such as these:

WRR Operations: WRR operates a full scale in-house recycling collection program for the following items: mixed paper, plastic bottles 1-7 (all bottles), glass, aluminum and steel cans, e- waste (CD’s, DVD’s, printer cartridges, batteries), corrugated cardboard, construction/demolition debris, scrap metal, white goods, wire, tires and lead acid batteries.

Pack-n-Go Sale: This annual event collects reusable clothing and household goods from Residence Halls during move-out. Materials are sorted and sold during a public sale and proceeds are given to the Inter-Residence Council for use in support of sustainability initiatives on campus.

America Recycles Day: This annual event highlights hard to recycle items. Collection events are staged for electronics and confidential materials and office supplies are exchanged.

WE Recycle: This innovative stadium recycling program utilizes volunteers to collect recyclable materials during tailgating and throughout the stadium complex. Volunteers return every season to be a part of this program. Last season WE Recycle diverted over 26.95 tons of recyclable materials from the landfill.

Waste Reduction & Recycling Web Site:
www.ncsu.edu/recycling