Final Recyclemania Tallies In

In the end, the northwest corner of Rose Hill was the greenest of them all.

When the final numbers of Recyclemania, which ended on April 1, were released, the residents of Salice-Conley Hall, Martyr's Court and Alumni South came out ahead of all other residence halls in the categories of most glass, metal and plastic, most paper and cardboard, and least trash, respectively.

The three residence halls are clumped together in the northwest corner of the Rose Hill campus. In the third annual, six-week long Recyclemania challenge, Salice-Conley Hall beat out the competition by recycling 6.09 pounds of glass, metal and plastic per person, beating Martyr's Court's second place finish of 5.37 pounds per person. Both bested Alumni South, which recycled a measly 2.47 pounds per person.

For paper and cardboard, the situation was reversed, as Martyr's Court's 6.57 pounds per person beat Salice-Conley's 5.88 pounds per person. Alumni South again was near the bottom of this category, with 2.87 pounds per person. Only Lincoln Center's McMahon Hall recycled less paper and cardboard, 2.77 pounds per person.

On the bright side, Alumni South generated the least amount of trash of any residence hall on the Rose Hill campus, 24.91 pounds per person, just squeaking by Loschert Hall's 24.94 pounds per person. McMahon Hall maintained its traditional lead in this category, with just 15.61 pounds per person.

Perhaps owing to its status as one of the largest residence halls on the Rose Hill campus, Martyr's Court also managed to also generate far and away the most trash, a whopping 48.62 pounds per person. The next closest was O'Hare Hall, on the other side of campus, where residents generated 40.38 pounds per person. Nothing, it seems, is done on a small scale at the court, which is named for the Jesuit martyrs Isaac Jogues, John LaLande, and Rene Goupil.

As with the past two years, Fordham participated in the "benchmark" division of the competition, and as such, was not ranked against other universities. According to statistics compiled by Great Forest, the University's residence halls generated 7.043 pounds of recyclables per capita and had a nearly 20% recycling rate, up from last year's 18.86%.

According to Recyclemania, that translates into 87 metric tons of CO2 Equivalent, or 17 cars off the road, or the energy consumption of eight households.

For more information about Recyclemania, visit http://recyclemaniacs.org.

—Patrick Verel

Possible Winner Emerges in Final Weeks of Recyclemania

With two weeks left in the annual Recyclemania Challenge, Rose Hill's Campbell Hall has taken the lead in both the paper/cardboard and glass/metal/plastic categories, at .76 pound per person and .67 pounds per person, respectively.

According to results released on Tuesday, March 19 by consultant Wake Forest, Campbell Hall residents knocked next door neighbors Salice-Conley Hall out of the top spot in the glass/metal/plastic category, which it had occupied for four weeks.

Lincoln Center's McMahon Hall continues to generate the least amount of trash of anyone, a mere 1.37 pounds per person.

Rose Hill's Tierney Hall generated the least amount of trash on campus, 2.18 pounds per person. That was tempered by the fact that the building also recycled the least amount of glass metal and plastic, .6 pounds per person. Only three residence halls collected less paper and plastic than Tierney, which at 152 residents is the second smallest on campus.

As for the top garbage generator, the folks in Martyr's Court took top billing, with a whopping 4.45 pounds of trash per person. Nearby Queens Court gave them a run for the money, with 3.81 pounds per person, but apparently Martyr's folks know garbage. Might want to take a tip form the folks over in Campbell guys!

Recyclemania continues through April 1. For more information, visitrecyclemania.com

—Patrick Verel

Recyclemania Challenge Nears Half Way Point

Three weeks into Recyclemania 2013, all the action in the competition to see which Fordham residents have a better knack for collecting cans, bottles and paper is confined to the northwest corner of the Rose Hill campus.

According to results released on Tuesday, Feb. 26 by consultant Wake Forest, Martyr’s Court, which recycled both the most glass, metal and plastic, and paper and cardboard in the first week of the competition, came out on top in the latter category this week, with .87 pounds of paper and cardboard per person. 

The residents of neighboring Salice-Conley Hall, on the other hand, took top honors in the glass/metal/plastic category this week, with .76 pounds per person. This was the second week residents there led in that category.

At the other end of the spectrum, the residents of Alumni Hall South managed to recycle the least amount of glass, metal and plastic (.37 pounds per person) and the least amount of paper and cardboard (.48 pounds per person). 

But hey, they also generated the least amount of trash of anyone on Rose Hill, with 4.09 pounds per person. As in past weeks, it was a trifle compared to the 2.79 pounds per person generated by the Lincoln Center campus residents who call McMahon Hall home. But it was still better than Martyr’s Court’s 6.41 pounds of trash generated by person.

Recyclemania continues through April 1. For more information, visit recyclemania.com.

—Patrick Verel

Recyclemania 2013 Officially Underway

The competition among Fordham's residence halls to see who can recycle the most and waste the least kicked off on Feb. 2, and after the first week, leaders have emerged. 

According to results released on Tuesday, Feb. 12 by consultant Wake Forest, Rose Hill’s Marytr's Court leads the pack in both the categories of most paper and cardboard and most glass, metal and plastic collected, at .98 pounds per person and .89 pounds per person, respectively. 

Rose Hill's Tierney Hall and Lincoln Center's McMahon Hall recycled the least amount of paper and cardboard, just .50 pounds per person. Rose Hill's Alumni South recycled the least amount of glass, metal and plastic at a paltry .32 pounds per person.

Reflecting the differences between the two campuses, the 2.89 pounds of trash per person counted at Lincoln Center's Walsh Hall was far less than any amount recorded at Rose Hill. The students there who kept the most trash out of the garbage stream are at Salice-Conley Hall, at 3.49 pounds per person. Curiously, Martyr’s Court was on the opposite end of the spectrum, as its residents generated a whopping 7.55 pounds of trash per person.

It would seem that in the first week of Recyclemania, the 446 residents of Martyr’s Court are the most prodigious, both in conservation and in waste. Keep it up guys! Also, stop it!

Recyclemania continues through April 1. For more information, visit recyclemania.com.

—Patrick Verel

Recyclemania Back for Third Year

Recyclemania, the annual competition that pits residence halls against each other for the title of "Greenest of them all," kicked off on Monday, Feb. 4 at the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses.

This is the third year that the university has entered the competition, which runs through April 1. As with the past two years, Fordham will participate in the "benchmark" division of the competition, which challenges dormitory residents to see who can simultaneously collect the most paper, cardboard glass, metal and plastic and generate as little solid waste as possible.

Waste Watcher Recycling Stations

Weekly updates will be issued by sustainability consultant Great Forest and sent to the residence halls weekly so students can track their progress.

The competition does not include administrative or academic buildings, but this year the Rose Hill campus' ten residence halls do have a partner in Hughes Hall, the new home of the Gabelli School of Business.

As part of the universities’ ongoing sustainability programs, Hughes Hall has been outfitted with seven new Waste Watcher Recycling Stations. The stations, which contain three bins for paper, plastic and garbage, are part of a pilot program that may be implemented in some of the 147 classrooms at the Rose Hill campus.

For more information about Recyclemania, visit http://recyclemaniacs.org.

—Patrick Verel

Rose Hill Dorms Dominate Second Annual RecycleMania

The second annual RecycleMania challenge ended on March 31 with three residence halls at Rose Hill taking top honors.

According to results released by consultant Wake Forest, Rose Hill’s Walsh Hall and Salice-Conley Hall finished the ten-week challenge in the top of the categories of most paper and cardboard, and most glass, metal and plastic, respectively. Both were in the lead on March 4, when data was last reported.

Likewise, Rose Hill’s Alumni South held on to win the title for the least amount of trash generated per person. The residents of Lincoln Center’s McMahon Hall won this category in last years’ challenge, but were out shined this year by Alumni South’s 3.29 pounds per person count. Tierney Hall generated the most trash per person, 5.61 pounds per person.

When it came to glass, metal and plastic, Salice-Conley Hall blew away the competition, recycling 1.04 pounds per person. Walsh Hall, which came in second place, recycled a mere 0.67 pounds per person. At the other end of the spectrum, Alumni South finished last, with 0.18 pounds per person.

On the south side of campus, Walsh Hall was victorious in the paper and cardboard category, managing to keep an average of a whole pound per resident out of the garbage stream. Alumni South was last in that category too, recycling 0.23 pounds per person.

This was the second year Fordham participated in RecycleMania, in the “benchmark” division of the competition, where the University did not compete with other schools, but rather pitted individual dorms against each other in a friendly competition to see who is the greenest of them all.

—Patrick Verel

Three Weeks in, Leaders Emerge in RecycleMania Challenge

Three weeks into the annual RecycleMania challenge, three residence halls currently share the title of the greenest of them all.

According to results released on Sunday, Feb. 5 by consultant Wake Forest, Rose Hill’s Tierney Hall and Salice-Conley Hall and Lincoln Center’s McMahon Hall lead the pack in the categories of most paper and cardboard, most glass, metal and plastic, and least amount of trash per person, respectfully.

Reflecting the differences between the two campuses, Walsh Hall’s 1.92 pounds of trash per person count was far less than any amount recorded at Rose Hill. The students there who kept the most trash out of the garbage stream was Alumni South, at 3.63 pounds per person. On the opposite end of the spectrum was Martyr’s Court, which generated 6.54 pounds of trash per person.

On the paper and cardboard front, the residents of Tierney Hall have recycled 2.30 pounds per person, way ahead of the next best total, Walsh Hall’s 1.18 pounds. McMahon Hall currently has the last spot, with a mere .29 pounds per person.

Like Tierney, the residents of Salice-Conley are outshining their peers, as their 1.06 pounds per person haul of glass, metal and plastic tops next door neighbor Campbell Hall, at .80 pounds per person. Alumni South currently occupies last place, with .24 pounds per person.

Recyclemania continues through March 31. For more information, visit recyclemania.com.

—Patrick Verel

RecycleMania Back For Second Year

Denizens of the ten residence halls at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus and one at Lincoln Center will once again compete against each other in RecycleMania, which kicked off on Sunday, Jan. 22.

The competition, which runs through March 31, will once again measure the amount of paper, cardboard glass, metal and plastic the members of each building collects, as well as how little solid waste they generate. The event seeks to increase recycling on campuses and highlight the work done by universities’ sustainability programs.

Last year was the first year the University participated in the contest, which began in 2001 and has grown to include 576 schools. As in the past, Fordham will be competing in the “benchmark” division of the competition. Although the University will not be directly competing with other schools, the individual dorms on campus will be ranked against each other.

Weekly updates will be issued by sustainability consultant Great Forest and sent to the residence halls weekly so students can track their progress. At the end of the competition, the winning dorm will receive a trophy, along with the satisfaction that they’re greener than them all.

For more information, visit recyclemania.com.

—Patrick Verel

Queens Court and McMahon Hall Triumph in RecycleMania

In the end, it was a queen’s world.

Queens Court, the three-building complex comprised of St. John's, St. Robert's and Bishop's Halls on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, beat ten other residence halls at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center in the University’s first RecycleMania contest.

The ten-week long national competition wrapped up last week, and when the final numbers were tabulated, Queens Court had recycled both the most paper and cardboard at 35.93 pounds per person, and the most glass, metal and plastic, at 42.22 pounds per person.

McMahon Hall, the lone residence hall at Lincoln Center campus, took home first prize for an achievement of the opposite sort: Residents there generated the least amount of trash generated over all, at 84.15 pounds per person.

This is the first year Fordham participated in the contest, in the informal “Benchmark” division. Rounding out the rest of the results were:

Paper/cardboard:
1. Queens Court: 35.93 pounds per person, or 4,850 pounds total
2. Campbell Hall: 27.51 pounds per person, or 7,570 pounds total
2. Walsh Hall: 26.32 pounds per person, or 10,950 pounds total

Glass/metal/plastic
1. Queens Court: 42.22 pounds per person, or 5,699 pounds total
2. Salice-Conley Hall: 39.13 pounds per person, or 8,765 pounds total
3. Campbell Hall: 38.91 pounds per person, or 8,133 pounds total

Trash
1. McMahon Hall: 84.15 pounds per person, or 74,137 pounds total
2. Loschert Hall: 115.28 pounds per person, or 29,512 pounds total
3. Alumni South: 122.93 pounds per person, or 37,125 pounds total

While the rest of the residence halls were not far behind the leaders, there were some exceptions. Martyr’s Court, for instance, recycled 17.23 pounds of paper and cardboard per person and 22.90 pounds of glass, metal and plastic per person. Those weren’t the lowest numbers for either category—those honors belong to McMahon Hall and Tierney Hall, respectively—but they do help explain another number: 482.11, the number of pounds of trash generated per person there.

Robert Freda, director of the Custodial Services department, said two issues were at play at Martyr’s Court that they would work with the Department of Residential Life to address. Although magnetic signs distributed by RecycleMania were posted around the building, he said student awareness could be improved.

They also need to re-examine the locations of the collection bins in Martyr’s Court. Because some of the closets where trash is collected are not big enough to also accommodate recycling bins, Freda noted that some of the bins had to be placed in lounges instead. That absence of consistency, and not residents’ apathy, was probably the cause of the spike in trash.

“The containers are there for recycling, but we want to make it as easy as we can for students to know where they are,” he said.

All told, the average diversion rate over the past ten weeks for the residence halls was about 22 percent, according to Great Forest, a consulting firm that crunched the numbers for Fordham. So the competition provided a good look at the ratio of trash to recyclables generated overall from the residence halls.

—Patrick Verel

Walsh Residence Hall Gets Into the Recycling Spirit

As Recyclemania enters the final days of a eight week-long competition, Walsh Hall's Resident Assistant Thomas Brown shared with us an example of how the competition, which for the first time pitted residence halls against each other at Fordham's Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses, also brought out a little creativity too.

Armed with little more than packing tape and their imaginations, and fueled by pizza and soda, roughly a dozen residents transformed plastic, cardboard and aluminum into, well...maybe we should just let the picture tell the story.




Keep up the great work guys!

For more information, visit http://www.recyclemania.org/

—Patrick Verel

RecycleMania Taps Enthusiasm for the Environment

Six weeks after joining a nation-wide contest to see who can best keep their bottles, cans and cardboard out of landfills, the residents of Queen’s Court, Salice-Conley Hall and McMahon Hall are in the lead for Fordham's biggest recycler.

According to statistics compiled weekly, the Rose Hill campus’ Queen's Court has recycled the most paper and cardboard, at five pounds per person. Nearby Salice-Conley Hall is leading the charge with glass, metal and plastic, at 6.70 pounds per person.

When it comes to keeping trash out of the system though, students at the 10 residence halls in the Bronx have nothing on their Manhattan brethren. Residents of McMahon Hall, which is on the Lincoln Center campus, have generated 9.75 pounds of trash per person.

RecycleMania, an annual contest between colleges around the country to see who can recycle more during an eight-week period, started in 2001 as a competition between Miami University of Ohio and Ohio University, and now features 630 schools.

This is the first year Fordham has participated in the contest, in the informal “Benchmark” division. In both the formal and informal divisions, schools submit weight data for paper, cardboard, cans and bottles, food waste and general trash each week, and are in turn able to see how they measure up against each other.

Since the competition began, a total of 45 tons of material have been collected from Fordham residence halls. The contest runs through April 2, so there is still time left to earn bragging rights as the greenest among them all.

For more information, visit http://www.recyclemania.org/

—Patrick Verel