Santa Clara University

Recycling Intern

Tracey Mangin

You may know her as a RecycleManiac or as a Sustainability Outreach Project mentor, but Tracey Mangin (SCU '09) has taken on a new outreach role as SCU's first Recycling Intern. She's faced with daunting goals set by her supervisors at Facilities. One of which is a 95% recovery of CRV (California Redemption Value) containers by the end of 2008. SCU currently recovers roughly 50% of CRV's, as "unrecovered" containers are those which people have thrown into the trash, rather than recycled.

Tracey's primary focus is to educate the campus community, initially directing her efforts towards incoming campus residents. As her first project, Tracey needed to develop a creative way to teach students how to recycle while getting them excited about a topic most people try to ignore - their waste. She developed a colorful magnet, complete with instructions on proper recycling at SCU and a Recycle Trivia raffle program designed to reward consistent recyclers. These magnets were distributed to all campus residents during the first weeks of school.

"We're hoping to give away totally awesome sustainable prizes, like a backpack with solar panels - so you can charge your ipod with renewable energy! Hopefully this contest and project will help us reach our larger waste reduction goals in a fun and sustainable way. SCU is a leader in our community in promoting a sustainable future, and developing a strong recycling program is another opportunity for us to set an example."

Tracey gives presentations to campus leaders, including residence hall Community Facilitators, encouraging them to contact her with questions and requests for floor presentations or displays.

She also developed a group on Facebook: SCU Recycles! so students can get involved and learn more.

Contact Tracey via e-mail: recycling@scu.edu.