Northwest Missouri State University is once again participating in the annual Campus Race to Zero Waste competition to encourage students, faculty and staff to practice recycling and waste reduction habits on campus.
Northwest will compete in the Campus Race to Zero Waste between Feb. 2 and March 29.
The eight-week competition, which starts Sunday, Feb. 2, and ends Saturday, March 29, requires participating colleges and universities to report the amount of waste and recycling they collect each week. Participating institutions are then ranked in various categories based on the amount they recycle per capita as well as recycling rates.
The competition categories include food organics, electronics recycling, average amount of waste each person on campus recycles and the percentage of waste diverted from the landfill. Last year, Northwest ranked first nationally in the competition’s Electronics Recycling Per Capita category.
Throughout the Campus Race to Zero Waste, the Office of Sustainability and the Bearcats Going Green student organization will organize and lead recycling awareness activities. The Office of Sustainability also will share waste reduction and recycling tips with on-campus residents through social media channels and lobby displays.
“We encourage faculty, staff and students to reduce, reuse and recycle every day by reducing consumption of materials when practical, reusing items rather than discarding them and properly recycling whenever possible,” Tim Hill, Northwest’s environmental sustainability coordinator, said. “The Campus Race to Zero Waste provides a friendly competition that allows us to show other colleges and universities that we are doing our part to care for the environment and protect the planet for future generations of Bearcats.”
Northwest has participated in the competition annually since 2005. To learn more about the contest and how to contribute, contact Hill at sustain@nwmissouri.edu or visit campusracetozerowaste.org.