A little friendly competition never hurt anyone— in fact, it can help the planet. The GW Eco-Challenge and RecycleMania, two major initiatives at The George Washington University, are rallying Colonials to live and operate with sustainability in mind.
“Universities have the unique opportunity to impart new practices on young minds. Contests like the GW Eco-Challenge and RecycleMania are important because they engage students directly,” says Facilities Sustainability Project Assistant Casey Pierzchala. “Changing students’ habits today will help them make a better impact on the earth and its resources for decades to come.”
The GW Eco-Challenge was initiated in 2008 as a way to involve students directly in electric and water conservation with a competition between residence halls.
“This is a contest in which students can change their own behaviors and have a real impact on our campus and our climate,” says Ms. Pierzchala. “Any conservation of electricity and water directly reduces the university’s carbon footprint and helps to green our campus.”
Ms. Pierzchala reports that as of March 1, GW residence halls had conserved more than 4.6 million gallons of water, compared with approximately 1 million saved at the same point last year. GW’s residence halls are also making progress with electricity conservation as well, with 804,743 kilowatt hours of electricity saved since the beginning of the academic year. Keep track of GW’s progress here.
GW’s participation in RecycleMania, a national recycling competition between universities, began in 2005. According to University Project Coordinator Samantha McGovern, in 2009 GW ranked 34th out of 293 universities with approximately 383,157 total pounds of recycling; 94th out of 148 in waste minimization; and 85th out of 293 in cumulative recyclable pounds per person.
This year’s competition features events across campus until March 27, when results will be tallied. On March 10 in Kogan Plaza, volunteers sorted through recycling brought by GW students, faculty and staff to determine how much the university was recycling in one day.
“Being one of the most visible schools in the nation’s capital, it is important that we set the example of what a sustainable university could look like,” says Ms. McGovern. “Recycling is one of the most basic actions people can do to help save our planet’s resources. Once this year’s competition gets rolling, I am anticipating even better results than last year.”
Both Ms. Pierzchala and Ms. McGovern have seen an increase in university participation in sustainability efforts over the past year.
“More people know about the contests and the habits that we’re encouraging, and students’ impact continues to grow,” says Ms. Pierzchala. “As part of a student’s educational experience here at GW, we hope they also learn how to be more sustainable citizens.”
“I am always encouraged and inspired by the students’ enthusiasm for environmental awareness,” adds Ms. McGovern. “Being green doesn’t have to be a project, but rather a series of small changes in habits for a lifetime.”