Ivy Tech Community College Recyclemania
Ivy Tech Community College Southwest region serves 10 counties in southwest Indiana at three locations. The main campus is located in Evansville, Indiana. With two instructional sites located at Princeton and Tell City, Indiana. This is the first year Ivy Tech Community College has participated in Recyclemania.
Ivy Tech Community College serves a student population of which 74% are working while earning their degree. Participation in an event like Recyclemania is primarily made of small events and messagingthroughout the 8 weeks. The college formed a Recyclemania team which included Administration, Facilities, Student Services, Student Life, and Student Clubs. They had a three prong approach – Employees, Students, and Combined.
Through the employee campaign:
-Created an informational flyer on what could be recycled
-held a recycle container contest, repurposing paper boxes
-Created an Employee video for Town Hall
-Made Recyclemania the topic of Front Line Briefings, College Council meetings, Board Meetings, and Manager Meetings.
Through the student campaign:
-Held a bake sale to bring awareness and raise funds
-Students created a recycling poster to promote Recyclemania
-PTK organized a campus and neighborhood clean-up at the end of the 8 weeks, with recycling as much as possible.
-Students created an educational video
-Students raised awareness and took on responsibility of recycle bin placement to bring convenience.
Through joint efforts of Students and Employees:
-Banner signing
-Information board displaying results, student work, and employee work.
-Recycled art gallery show was a great success with both students and employees.
-Email and Plasma screens throughout the facilities carried the message of what to recycle, where to recycle, and why to recycle. This was combined with other messages of how to reduce waste and carbon foot print.
-Community events are shared so students and employees can continue their green efforts at home.
Ivy Tech joined University of Southern Indiana and University of Evansville in a friendly competition. Who could increase their per capita classic numbers in the last 4 weeks the most over the 1st 4 weeks of competition. The results will be revealed in the coming week. Our students gladly accepted this challenge.
Alcoa Foundation and Keep America Beautiful also granted Ivy Tech Community College 100 waste watcher bins to increase our collection convenience at the main campus and two instructional sites. We are excited to receive this grant and look forward to stronger numbers next year.
The overall results are tremendous. The first week of measurement showed us we were only recycling 11.8% of our waste. In week 8 of the competition, our numbers demonstrate the impact of getting the message out and sharing the spirit of recycling. Our final week of Recyclemania resulted in 32.1% of our waste being recycled. By educating about recycling and increasing convenience to follow through, we have tripled our recycling program. Ivy Tech Community College is excited about the results. We have shown that green is more than our school color.
The key to success has been the team behind this event. We have passionate people who shared the enthusiasm and worked hard to make this event a success. The team started out just to support this event, however will continue as the regional Green Team with the charge to continue efforts throughout the year. The goal of the Green Team is to make recycling more convenient than throwing items away. This would mean having recycle bins at desks and workstations, with trash bins located in central areas.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.