Recyclemania, the annual 10-week, intercollegiate recycling competition returned to UT for the fourth straight year and kicked off Monday, Jan. 20, at 10 a.m.

Jay Price, UT’s recycling coordinator, said he believes UT can be a serious contender in this year’s competition. He said he hopes, with recent improvements to the recycling program contributed by the university and private donors, students will begin to think the same thoughts that drafted him into the growing conservationist army:

"All it took was seeing a bin for me," Price said.

Recyclemania has been growing nationally for eight years now. Schools compete by recording and reporting the weight of their recycled goods on a weekly basis, and the winners are chosen based on their per-capita figures after the completion of the 10 week period.

The competition has grown rapidly, spreading from 48 schools in 2005 to a remarkable 494 involved in this year’s competition.

The nice part [about the competition] is all you have to do is recycle.
Jay Price

Price attributes this perpetual momentum on a national scale to the grassroots recycling awareness programs that seem to be spreading like wildfire.

"I think there is a social pressure [on recycling]," Price said, commenting on the conservationist attitude cementing itself deeper within mainstream society.

UT has been making serious strides to turn itself into a greener campus within the past several years, and this year’s Recyclemania competition synced itself perfectly with a windfall of generosity from ALCOA aluminum company.

ALCOA donated 1,000 recycling bins for campus buildings and campus area apartment complexes. In addition to this gift, the University has also purchased 6,000 recycling bins to place in every office across campus.

Price said he feels that with so many recycling bins across campus, people will take the extra few steps to contribute to something bigger.

"The nice part [about the competition] is all you have to do is recycle," Price said.

In addition to the national competition, Price has formulated an inter-residence hall recycling competition running through February. The winning dorm will receive a handcrafted trophy and cross-campus bragging rights.