Residents of the Greek community go house-to-house in an on-going sustainability competition to encourage recycling and other eco-friendly habits.
Danie Merriman, ASUI director of sustainability, said 20 of the 27 Greek houses on campus are participating in the competition, which began in November.
Merriman said 20 of the 27 Greek houses on campus are participating in the competition, which requires them to recycle as well as become more energy-conscious.
“We’re doing it over the semester, and over the year, so it’s supposed to get them in the habit of doing that all the time, so after the competition is finished their house will continue to recycle and improve their efficiency and help out overall,” Merriman said.
The program is divided into two parts, one that focuses on recycling and another on energy efficiency within the houses.
“We’re asking houses to collect their recycling and take it to the Moscow Recycling Center and weigh their recycling, and then they get a little receipt to record their weight. At the end of the semester we’ll add all that up,” Merriman said. “The second part has to do with energy efficiency. We have the records of the houses from the past year and how efficient they were, and then we’re also going to record how efficient the houses have been this semester.”
Merriman said to determine the winner the number of pounds of recycled materials will be added to the difference in energy savings for each house.
“The house with the biggest number wins,” Merriman said.
Merriman said the first place fraternity and sorority will each receive a $200 monetary prize, and the second place houses in each category will receive a $100 prize.
Merriman said students can do things like turn off their lights whenever possible, and use energy-efficient electronics to become more sustainable.
Houses can recycle a number of materials at the center in Moscow, except for glass because of the expenses associated with the equipment.
“They’re collecting plastics, mixed plastics, different kinds of plastics, as well as paper and aluminum — because they have a lot of cans, and cardboard which is one of the biggest weight items,” Merriman said.
Merriman said the Greek recycling program is not associated with Recycle-mania, and the residence halls have already taken the initiative to become more sustainable.
“At the dorms they’re doing a really good job of documenting how much recycling they already have, so they’ve kind of made their own program by themselves,” Merriman said. “So they’re doing a nice job of doing it themselves and they haven’t needed that extra boost.”
The competition will end at the beginning of April and the winner will be determined then, Merriman said.