University of Colorado at Colorado Springs students, staff and faculty will “dumpster dive” Nov. 15 to celebrate American Recycles Day.
From 9 –11 a.m. near Columbine Hall on the UCCS campus, members of the campus community will empty a dumpster of campus waste to identify what could have been recycled.
“This is a visual way to highlight how much goes into the waste stream unnecessarily,” Linda Kogan, sustainability officer, Facilities Services, said. “It ought to be interesting to see what we find.”
This fall, UCCS implemented its first campus-wide recycling plan and set a goal to recycle 26 percent of its waste. Plastics with numbers 1-7 can be recycled in addition to paper, glass and aluminum. All offices have recycling bins for paper and plans are underway to provide classroom recycling bins.
“The purpose of America Recycles Day is to continue to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment,” Kogan said. “We are pleased to be a part of this effort.”
Representatives from Recycle America will be at the dumpster diving event to demonstrate recyclable items and answer questions about the program.
In January, UCCS plans to participate in Recycle Mania, a national competition among colleges and universities for recycling and waste reduction.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado, and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 29 bachelor’s degrees, 18 master’s, and four doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,700 students.