Students in West Virginia Universitys Summit Hall are learning that conserving utilities pays offin more ways than one.
The hall is the winner of the Universitys first Ecolympics after reducing its energy usage by 27 percent and recycling more than 5,000 pounds of paper, plastic and aluminum.
For their efforts, WVU President Mike Garrison will present the students with a custom-made trophy and big-screen television during an informal award ceremony at 5 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 16) in the main lobby of Summit Hall.
Students are also invited to an open house from 5-8 p.m. that day to learn more about WVU s Environmental Conservation Awareness Now, or WE CAN , program and see the new TV in the Summit Hall commons area.
The students should be proud of the amazing results they produced during the Ecolympics,said Barbara Angeletti, WVU s recycling coordinator.It illustrates the success weve had at WVU to increase our sustainable practices and continue to work toward a greener campus.
Ecolympics, part of the WE CAN program, encouraged students in the residence halls to compete by saving energy and collecting recycled materials. Halls were awarded points based on energy conservation figures, amount of recycled materials collected and results from a scavenger hunt and trivia quiz.
The monthlong event in October resulted in 12.2 tons of recycled materials being collected across the campus and a tie between two residence halls. A subsequent weeklong tie-breaker in November between Summit Hall and Bennett/Lyon Towers resulted in more than 6,000 pounds of recycled materials being collected.
The overall environmental savings from the Ecolympics includes savings of 126 barrels of oil, 71,000 gallons of water or 21.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere, Angeletti noted.
WE CAN is the Universitys initiative to increase recycling and conservation efforts across the WVU campus. Programs include a recycling program at each of the Universitys buildings; the Mountaineers Recycle program, which collects recyclable materials from tailgaters at Mountaineer Field; the annual Blue and Gold Mine Sale, a huge yard sale with items donated by students and employees that benefits the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties; and the Ecolympics efforts.
Angeletti thanked the Wal-Mart corporation for its support of the WE CAN program. During Wednesdays awards ceremony, company representatives will be on hand to present a $10,000 donation, part of which was used to purchase the big-screen television being awarded to Summit Hall.
For more information on the WE CAN program, visithttp://wecan.wvu.edu.