February 3, 2023
Campus community encouraged to ramp up efforts during annual recycling competition
Purdue University for the 13th consecutive year is competing in the Campus Race to Zero Waste competition.
Campus Race to Zero Waste is officially underway and runs through March 25. During this time, universities and colleges across America and Canada work to increase campus recycling. Some of the competition categories include electronics, food organics, diversion and per capita.
At the West Lafayette campus, the Campus Planning, Architecture and Sustainability (CPAS) department is hopeful the recently updated recycling program will help recycling efforts and improve Purdue’s chances in the competition.
“As part of the updated program, new signage is located throughout various campus facilities to help encourage recycling,” said Tony Gillund, director of sustainability. “If each individual is more conscious of disposing waste properly, this can have a great impact on a large campus like Purdue and help increase our total landfill diversion.”
Updates have also been made to the sustainability website to include more information about recycling and recyclable items, including detailed information about common recycling mistakes.
“With more information available, the campus community can make more informed decisions when it comes to recycling,” Gillund said. “We hope this will have a significant long-term impact not only at Purdue but also on a broader scale.”
The Administrative Operations organization supports the university through safe, reliable and transformative services. Participating in a friendly competition to help increase recycling and reduce waste is just one of many ways the organization powers Purdue.
Questions about the competition or recycling on campus may be directed to CPAS at sustainability@purdue.edu. For updates on events, including tabling events throughout the competition, be sure to follow @SustainPurdue on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
