EcoReps

National Collegiate Recycling Competition Returns to the UW Seattle Campus

For the fifth year, the University of Washington is competing in RecycleMania — a friendly tournament where national college campuses compete during the course of eight weeks to see which can reduce, reuse and recycle the most on-campus waste. The UW will take on nationwide universities including Pac-12 rivals Arizona State University, Stanford, University of California Berkeley, University of Oregon and Washington State University.

Cornell University and the University of Washington are both national leaders for sustainability movements on college campuses. In fact, they both made The Princeton Review’s 2017 Green College Honor Roll, in which schools must receive a score of 99 (the highest possible score) in a Green Rating tally.

It’s no secret that waste is a big problem in some areas of the UW Greek Community, as well as other areas north of campus. This problem turns from big to BIG in the month before school starts (late August and early September) and the month after school ends (June). Students are on the move, transitioning between houses, apartments, dorms, etc. and in the process a lot of waste gets left behind or abandoned on the street as somebody else’s problem.

The student group UW EcoReps works with the Greek community at UW to promote sustainability. EcoReps has created a Green Greek representative program to bring students from houses across the Greek community together to find opportunities in houses, on campus and beyond. Check out this video for more information on UW's Green Greek representatives:

Tali Haller has been a student at the University of Washington for less than two years, and she's already won two Husky Green Awards – an accomplishment no one else has achieved.

"It's very motivating, and it also gives some validity to the things that I'm doing," she said about the Husky Green Award wins. "It's really nice to be recognized for work that I'm doing on campus."

Tali has already been able to make a big impact promoting sustainability in the UW Greek system, as well as being involved in many other environmental and sustainability projects on campus and off.

By Tali Haller

After a few wild days of recycle basketball, trash Minute-To-Win-It, sustainability trivia, and green pledging last weekend, the 2016 Green Greek Competition was a success. More than 180 students signed a Green Pledge and 29 Greek Chapters participated.

Today (Friday, April 8) the student group EcoReps wants to help you freshen up your wardrobe while getting rid of your unwanted clothes without tossing them in the trash.

The EcoReps are hosting a clothing swap on Red Square today from 2-5 p.m. Bring your gently-used clothes and swap them for new-to-you items - help reduce waste while revamping your wardrobe. Just look for the EcoReps tables on Red Square to start swapping clothes.

The EcoReps student group has been working on several campus projects to further sustainability at UW.

The UW EcoReps clothing swap will be held on Friday, April 8, in Red Square from 2-5 p.m. This project helps address the current issue of textile waste in the United States. In order to promote a change in social norms surrounding textile consumption, we are offering a fun, sustainable event for students to come together and exchange their gently used clothing. 

Meet the new EcoReps Outreach & Communication Coordinator, Zan Roman!

Zan is a junior pursuing a Degree in Environmental Science and Resource Management at the UW. Born and raised in Bellingham, he enjoys any sport involving a ball, exploring the PNW, writing, and drawing.

EcoReps is excited to introduce our new coordinator, Mac Robinson!