Quickly look to the left, then the right. A few strides and you arrive at the target. Package delivered. The bottle is in the recycling bin. You look to make an exit, but are approached by a small group of excited students — you’ve just been caught green handed.

The promotion, put on by University Dining and sponsored by Coke-a-Cola, was designed to encourage recycling among the student population. When a student is caught recycling by a “get caught green handed” street team, they are given several small prizes and are entered in a drawing for one of five $100 gift cards. The promotion will continue through February 25.

According to Ariel Fugate, a senior in interdisciplinary studies and student intern at Waste Reduction and Recycling, the results have been very positive. Several student groups have volunteered to be the prize-awarding street teams, including the Wolfpack Environmental Student Association, Net Impact and the Student Government Sustainability Commission, Women in Science and Engineering, Park Scholars and the Inter-Residence Council.

Matthew Peterson, a senior in biological sciences, is a member of the IRC street team.

“I’ll admit that some of the students we approached were wary, perhaps a bit freaked out at first at being ambushed by sustainability-loving volunteers,” Peterson said. “However, overall I think students who have been caught by us have responded positively and enthusiastically.”

“We’re trying to stir up excitement, and the whole ‘getting caught’ aspect almost lends an air of mystery to the whole thing,” Peterson said.

According to Fugate, the promotion was inspired by a past Coke-a-Cola event called “get caught red handed.” In the Coke event, those who were caught recycling Coke products were rewarded.

“This year, our office [Waste Reduction and Recycling] and University Dining wanted to put a different spin on it,” Fugate said. “Every student I have caught has been thrilled, especially to be entered in to a drawing for five $100 Visa cash cards. We are also catching staff, faculty and visitors. Each winner gets a [light-up Coke-a-Cola] pen, coupon to the C-store and a sticker, along with being entered in the drawing.”

According to Jennifer Gilmore, the marketing and communications manager for University Dining, the prizes and promotional material are paid for in full by Coke-a-Cola.

“Obviously sustainability is a huge issue for Coke,” Gilmore said. “They are a big producer of bottles, so they have an interest in getting those bottles where they need to be. They give us a marketing budget every year as part of our contract … to help support the different activities that we get involved in.”

While the exact time and locations of the street teams are ambiguous, according to Gilmore, some groups involved will post about their plans on their Facebook pages.

“One of the things we’ve found that works is if we use our various Facebook pages to post that we’re in a certain location, and people tend to show up,” Gilmore said. “That’s cool. It engages people in our social media spaces… We’ve posted in our University Dining Facebook page, for sure.”

University Dining, WRR and Coke all play a role in the promotion, but according to Gilmore, the largest contributors are students. Many of the street teams are formed from student groups, and Fugate has taken a major role administratively.

“[Once] we put the program in place, Ariel [Fugate] would help pull together various groups across campus to initiate it. She even handled getting all the posters designed,” Gilmore said. “[It has been] a good partnership between two departments, and students who tend to take a strong initiative toward things that mean a lot to them.”

University Dining has been involved with the products of recycled bottles before. At the UNC Campout this past January, Dining gave out T-shirts which read “Not Wasted,” made from recycled plastic.

“A lot of man-made synthetic fibers are very similar to plastic,” Gilmore said. “If you think about it, polyester and nylon are kind of a plastic.”

Another potential use for recycled bottles is making a graduation gown. According to John Starbuck, the marketing manager for the Campus Bookstore, this semester students will be able to buy gowns in red or black.

Each gown, made by the company Oak Hall Cap and Gown, is made from approximately 23 post-consumer recycled bottles and can be recycled again after graduation. According to Starbuck, gowns will be available in April.

“I think of the bottle as a necessary thing,” Gilmore said. “Make sure you get it in a recycling bin. That is the most important thing, because [the bottle] can’t have a second life unless it ends up in the recycling bin.”