“Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a metal is non-ferrous. Jack and I carry a small magnet on our persons for just these instances,” said Matthew Freed, the recycling crew leader at 91����Ƶ. 

He and his Facilities Management colleague Jack Hummel regularly collect scrap metal that’s leftover from renovation work on campus to haul out to the local scrapyard, and they use the magnets to know whether or not a bit of metal belongs in the ‘contains iron’ or ‘does not contain iron’ bin.

“These metals come from leftover wire from electrical work, leftover copper pipe from various construction/renovation work on campus, electric motors taken out of different broken appliances and HVAC units, brass items such as old door hardware and old kitchen faucets, and discarded lead-acid batteries,” Freed said. 

Recently, Freed had a non-ferrous scrap run of “epic” proportions, earning over $500 for their quarterly haul. 

“This time we had a lot of brass for some reason and metal prices are higher than they have been in about 10 years,” he said. 

One of the most unique things they’ve hauled off so far was the old planetarium’s star projector assemblage during the Suter Science Center renovations last summer – an that was state of the art when first installed in 1968.

This isn’t exactly a cash cow for the university, though – more of a labor of love. Freed usually only gets around $100 per load of non-ferrous metal, but is committed to the practice as a good steward of the materials that come through 91����Ƶ’s campus. 

That commitment has shone through in the annual RecycleMania competition, as 91����Ƶ has placed first for five years straight among participating Virginia universities. 

Recycling staff and student workers at 91����Ƶ collect 70 tons annually of recyclable materials from 24 campus recycling points using custom-built bicycles pulling specially-designed, eight-foot trailers that can each haul about 300 pounds at a time.

“Recycling scrap metal is just one of the facilities management initiatives that supports our goal of increased sustainability as an institution,” said Ed Lehman, director of facilities management. 

91����Ƶ recycling coordinator says the annual nationwide event provides an opportunity to “engage with the campus and community in more creative and enjoyable ways.”

“Encouraging participation helps us increase awareness about the recycling program,” Freed says, “and it helps remind people of the best recycling practices, as well as serving as a general reminder of the recycling resources available. “

This year’s RecycleMania also featured a competition within the campus, as Freed and crew member David Brennan conducted a weekly “waste audit” of each residence hall over a two-month period to see which one was keeping the most recyclables out of the trash. Brennan, who holds an MFA in creative writing, used a variety of prose and poetry in weekly emails to encourage student investment in the project.

The announcement of the winner, for example, stated that “Cedarwood has been officially named the cream of the giant jug of milk that is 91����Ƶ dorm life” because, of course, it rose to the top. Cedarwood received a creative mural to “liven up the wall” of its recycling room as a prize.

“Ever since I stepped foot on campus, I’ve wanted to do a waste audit,” Freed says. “RecycleMania presented an opportunity to do so and to add a fun competition between dorms at the same time. I wanted a clearer picture of what type and percentage of recyclables, compostables and re-usables were being thrown out in an effort to better evaluate our own effectiveness in capturing items that could be diverted from the landfill.”

Freed says that despite 91����Ƶ’s respectable numbers, he would like to see the campus improve in future years. He and Brennan were especially surprised by the amount of compostable food scraps they found in trash cans.

In all, about 350 schools competed this year in 13 categories of RecycleMania, which began in 2001. Richland College of Dallas, Texas, finished first in the 2016 competitive division with a recycling rate of 81.774 percent. The University of Missouri-Kansas City, New Mexico State University-Main Campus, Loyola Marymount University and Berkshire Community College rounded out the top five.

In Virginia, 91����Ƶ was followed by the College of William and Mary (37.1% recycling rate), James Madison University (35.3%), the University of Virginia main campus (27.2%) and Virginia Tech (19.3%).

RecycleMania says the participating schools recycled or composted a combined 79.3 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials.

“RecycleMania provides us with an opportunity to heighten awareness about the importance of recycling among college students, and help make recycling participation a core component of the college experience,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president/recycling for Keep America Beautiful, which manages the competition. “Our hope is that these recycling behaviors stick with them throughout their life, creating a new generation of community stewards.”

Prior to its and 2016 finishes, 91����Ƶ finished twice as state runner-up.