A student environmental organization is coordinating a recycling competition between residence halls to promote participation in a nationwide recycling race, the group’s vice president said.AV, an on-campus environmental organization, is coordinating TCU’s participation in RecycleMania in conjunction with Residential Services.

RecycleMania, a 10-week recycling competition, began Sunday and will end April 7, AV Vice President Kimberly Banzhaf said.

TCU is one of 201 colleges and universities around the country competing in the race.

Other participating area schools include Baylor University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Austin, according to the RecycleMania Web site.

All students need to do, AV member Sarah Warner said, is to “please recycle.”

To enhance participation, AV is conducting a recycling competition among the residence halls, said Banzhaf, a junior environmental science major.

Housekeepers at residence halls will keep a count of how many recycling bags they take out, and AV will report TCU’s progress by the pound each week to RecycleMania, Banzhaf said.

Although Residential Services has been providing recycle bins and information on recycling for all residence halls, the effort has been falling on the wayside, said John Hernandez, manager of residential housekeeping.

“I’m glad someone is taking initiative,” Hernandez said.

Caity Christensen, a sophomore secondary education major, said she thinks RecycleMania is a good idea. Her residence hall has nicknamed its trash room “save-the-earth” room, she said.

AV President Bethanne Edwards, a senior environmental science major, said recycling is a gateway to other environmental issues because it is a program that has been around long enough to have numbers that show how individuals can make a difference.

“A lot of people don’t think recycling is a big deal,” Edwards said. “But it is.”

AV’s goal in entering RecycleMania is beyond winning, members said.

Banzhaf said AV has not set a target besides keeping RecycleMania an annual program for TCU.

“It’s an opportunity to promote recycling on campus and get students passionate and excited about it,” said Warner, a junior sociology major.

Edwards said RecycleMania will also be AV’s means to research how much TCU recycles.

“If we’re going to expand our recycling program — which is our goal – we’d have to see how much we recycle already,” Edwards said.

The main obstacle TCU will face with RecycleMania, Edwards said, is low student participation.

Warner said many students either find recycling inconvenient or they have limited knowledge about recycling.

Karla Arellano, a sophomore radio-TV-film major, said she doesn’t know recyclables from nonrecyclables.

“That’s why I only recycle bottles,” Arellano said. “I know I should do better.”

Banzhaf said she would advise students to have a list of recyclables by their trash cans.

“I have a list by my trash can because I forget,” Banzhaf said. “And I recycle all the time.”

Another setback, Edwards said, is TCU competing against universities that have staff members who are in charge of separating and recycling.

“That’s how much they care about it,” Edwards said.

The winning university will receive a trophy and national recognition, Edwards said.

Banzhaf said another benefit from winning RecycleMania would be an opportunity to boost other universities’ recycling programs by teaching them how to improve their programs through the winning university’s example.

“Other schools will want to know how we did so well,” Banzhaf said.