Every year, Choate Conservation Proctors, better known as C-Proctors, organize various challenges to encourage sustainability efforts in the Choate community, including the annual inter-dorm Recycling Challenge. From September 26 to October 24, the Recycling Challenge assesses the recycling of all dorms on campus and guarantee prizes to the dorms that recycle most consciously.
C-Proctors collect recycling bins from the common rooms of each dorm twice a week and assess the bins on a ten-point scale to determine which dorms recycled the most efficiently and deserve the most points. This point scale takes into account the number of recycling mistakes and the size of the dorm. The dorms with more points are split up by platinum, gold, silver, and Deerfield green levels. Prizes are allotted to dorms based on these levels, with platinum being the highest.
The Recycling Challenge aims to ensure that students know how to effectively recycle and differentiate what goes into trash cans versus recycling bins.
“It’s important that students know the difference so that we can recycle as much as possible without compromising the integrity of what is recycled,” said Siri Palreddy ’20, a member of the C-Proctors.
A subgroup of Choate C-Proctors manages the recycling challenge from planning to execution. Planning for the challenge starts in mid-September, when the group exchanges ideas on how to get the Choate community involved. Although most of the ideas are generated by students, if help is needed, Ms. Katrina Linthorst Homan, Director of Sustainability and Faculty Advisor to the C-Proctors steps in, as well as Mr. Steve Cahoon from Facilities Services.
“While dorms can have weeks where they don’t do well, for the most part, each dorm will have some good weeks too. We have sent out information to the Head of House and C-Proctors or Eco-Reps that live in the dorms that have lost points to explain what issues they had, so that they can pass on the information of how they can do better,” Ms. Linthorst-Homan said.
Current front-runners of the challenge as of Week 2 are Bungalow and Lowndes, each with 20 points after two weeks.
A variety of prizes will be awarded to dorms based on the number of points they obtain in the four-week challenge. Platinum level dorms (35 points or higher) get to choose from a prize selection of a pizza party, donuts, or bagels; gold level dorms (30-34 points) get to choose from a selection of donuts or bagels; and silver level dorms (25-29 points) receive bagels. The Deerfield green level is assigned to dorms with 24 points or less over the course of the challenge and doesn’t receive any prizes.
