Final results were announced Tuesday for two spring competitions that encourage faculty, staff and students to make lifestyle improvements for maintaining a healthier planet. Read this note for a message from Elon University President Leo M. Lambert on the importance of both contests.
To: Elon campus community
From: President Leo M. Lambert
Re: 2009 RecyleMania and POWERless results
2009 marked the second year for Elon’s POWERless competition, a seven-week contest among the residential areas to promote energy conservation. And it marked the third year for Elon’s participation in the 10-week nationwide RecycleMania competition, an entertaining way to promote recycling awareness and participation, while helping to reduce landfill waste.
Once again, both competitions were a success! For POWERless, the overall amount of kilowatt hours not used compared to the baseline consumption in this year’s competition exceeded last year’s by more than 47,000 kwh. During the 10-week RecycleMania campaign, the Elon University community captured an impressive 73,638 lbs. of recyclable materials.
2009 POWERless achievements
The goal of this year’s competition was to exceed 2008’s electricity reduction of 111,762 kwh, which was done with a reduction of 159,054 kwh. In addition, every residential area reduced electricity consumption over the seven-week contest. Environmentally, the kilowatt hours not used during the competition equate to:
• 64 tons of coal being burned
• 90 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (primary contributor to climate change)
• 413 pounds of nitrogen oxide emissions and 1,033 pounds of sulfur dioxide emissions (contributors to acid rain)
It was a close competition all the way up to the last week, and all participants share in the excellent overall electricity reduction during the seven weeks.
This year the competition was broken down by Division I and II.
In the area competition the greatest energy reduction was achieved by:
Division II – Danieley with a 47.34% reduction
Division I – The Oaks with a 20.28% reduction
The buildings with the top energy reduction in each Division were:
Division II – Danieley Flat I with 26.84% reduction
Division I – Oaks Building B with 22.51% reduction
2009 RecycleMania accomplishments
Our objective this year was to exceed the 2008 contest total of 107,833 lbs. (53.92 tons). We had an extra challenge this year, since Spring Break fell in the tenth week of the competition. Along the way, the slowing of the economy found many schools across the country seeing lesser weight volumes being captured. Elon was no different. Nationally, Elon’s recycling figures were as follows:
• RecycleMania total : 73,638 lbs (36.82 tons), placing Elon in 168th place out of 433 schools and 2nd among Southern Conference schools.
• Elon’s per capita recyclable collection was 10.86 lbs per person cumulative.
• Plastic/aluminum/glass totaled 23,430 lbs, placing Elon 60th out of 290 schools.
• Cardboard totaled 27,980 lbs, placing Elon 101st out of 277 schools.
• Paper and paper related recyclables totaled 22,228 lbs, placing Elon 158th out of 284 schools.
The Resident Area Competition held between the Loy Center, Colonnades, North Area, East Area, West Area, Danieley Center and The Oaks for per capita cumulative weight volume, brought out one of the best competitions to date. Collectively, the areas captured 13,144 lbs of recyclables. With the West Area being the defending champion for the past two years, several areas stepped up to challenge for this year’s crown, making the 2009 race very exciting.
On a per capita basis, only .64 lbs separated 1st and 2nd place. Congratulations to…
• The Oaks, capturing 4,230 lbs of recyclables with a 7.92 lb per capita ranking.
The winners of both competitions were recognized at a special College Coffee this morning in celebration of Earth Week.
The most important aspect of both competitions is that they raise awareness of the impact each of us can make by changing small habits and making a conscious effort to conserve electricity and prevent waste from entering a landfill.
POWERless and RecycleMania serve as a good reminder of these simple habits, but we must all challenge ourselves to continue these daily habits throughout the entire year. Such daily actions do have an impact and contribute toward a more environmentally sustainable campus.