{"id":38004,"date":"2018-04-26T09:38:55","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T13:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=38004"},"modified":"2018-05-01T08:17:31","modified_gmt":"2018-05-01T12:17:31","slug":"recycling-teams-creative-publicity-is-surely-behind-emus-fourth-consecutive-recyclemania-state-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/recycling-teams-creative-publicity-is-surely-behind-emus-fourth-consecutive-recyclemania-state-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Recycling team\u2019s creative publicity is (surely) behind EMU’s fourth consecutive Recyclemania state championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eastern Mennonite University has retained its crown as the RecycleMania<\/a> champion of Virginia. For the fourth straight year, EMU finished first among Virginia colleges and universities entered in the Competition Division (diversion subcategory) of the annual nationwide contest. EMU\u2019s recycling rate of 42.347 percent also placed it 63rd nationally out of 170 schools.<\/p>\n

EMU recycling coordinator Matthew Freed says the event provides an opportunity to \u201cengage with the campus and community in more creative and enjoyable ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, for the first time, Freed held a waste audit competition in the residence halls to better track \u201cwhat type and percentage of recyclables, compostables and re-usables were being thrown out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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David Brennan (left), recycler, and Matthew Freed, EMU recycling coordinator, are the organizers of EMU’s efforts in the RecycleMania contest. They were good sports and hopped in a newspaper recycling bin to illustrate their love of recyclables.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year\u2019s competition, called the \u201cDorm Community Compost Collusion Contest,\u201d measured compostable food scraps.<\/p>\n

The contest\u2019s Grand Champion is Parkwoods, which composted 153.4 pounds of food waste over the contest period. Northlawn was a close second with 67.6 pounds, and Cedarwood tallied bronze with 41.8 pounds. As this year’s prize, ten randomly selected Parkwoods apartments have received a $5 Common Grounds gift certificate.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Recyclemania, visit our website<\/a> and their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other reasons to like Recyclemania season besides winning again<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>For some on campus, the start of the annual spring Recyclemania contest is anticipated, not just for the opportunity to show our recycling chops and \u201cincendiary activism\u201d around consumerism, but also for the random appearance in our inboxes of some of the most startling and cackle-inducing emails of the year (hands-down).<\/p>\n

This is thanks to David Brennan, who contributes body if not soul as a recycling crew team member at EMU while laboring as an adjunct faculty member at James Madison University and also at the plying of his craft. Brennan is a regular host of Kairos Place, the writing retreats at EMU.<\/p>\n

This healthy balance has helped to generate his book (not his first) If Beauty Has To Hide<\/em><\/a>, published by spuyten duyvil, in May 2018.<\/p>\n

He has been widely published (this is a normal, but lazy phrase used to capture a career\u2019s worth of creative endeavors, so if you want to learn more, click here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Work study students\u00a0Lydia Haggard (left) and Ashley Kilhefner involved in the recycling effort also hopped into the recycling bin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brennan has an MFA in creative writing with a concentration in poetry from the University of Alabama and a BA in creative writing and English literature from Oberlin College.<\/p>\n

He is an occasional contributor to EMU news coverage, writing about<\/p>\n