via RecycleMania
The ruckus heard across college campuses this spring was not just because of the NCAA collegiate basketball tournaments. It was also RecycleMania season at 630 colleges and universities. RecycleMania, which wrapped up its 11th annual recycling competition in early April, is an eight-week challenge that ignites classic college rivalries, rallying students, faculty and staff to increase on-campus recycling rates beyond their collegiate competitors. This year, 91 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials were recovered, which prevented the release of nearly 270 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E). This reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 52.8 million passenger cars; electricity use of more than 32.7 million homes; or the burning of nearly 1.5 million railcars’ worth of coal. The competition, which extends from February 6 through April 2, includes eight categories. The colleges and universities that took home top prizes in the three primary categories are:
- “Grand Champion” (determined by the percentage of overall waste recycled): California State University – San Marcos (79.69%) — San Marcos, CA
- “Per Capita Classic” (determined by total pounds of recyclables collected per person): Union College (55.69 pounds) — Schenectady, NY
- “Waste Minimization” (determined by the lowest overall amount of waste recyclables and trash per person): North Lake College (3.07 pounds) — Irving, TX