by Brianna Crandall — February 14, 2011—Alcoa Foundation has joined forces with national nonprofits Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), EPA’s WasteWise program, the American Forest & Paper Association, Waste Management and The Coca-Cola Company to educate the next generation of recyclers through RecycleMania, an intense university-based competition that runs from February 6 to April 2, 2011.
Launched in 2001 as a friendly challenge between Ohio University and Miami University, RecycleMania aims to change behavior about recycling and raise awareness about waste reduction programs on campuses. In 2010, 607 colleges and universities participated in the challenge, and collected more than 84.5 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics. This prevented the release of 137,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere, says KAB.
Over the 10-week competition, colleges and universities will vie for top awards in nine categories to see who recycles the most on a per capita basis, who produces the least amount of waste, and who recycles the largest percentage of their overall waste.
Alcoa Foundation sponsored 50,000 recycling bins and helped kick off the challenge by awarding 13 universities across the U.S. with stackable, six-gallon bins appropriate for use in student housing and offices. The schools were selected based on their ability to develop a strategic plan to collect the most recyclable materials.
The recipients are: Carnegie Mellon University (PA), Clemson University (SC), Florida A&M University (FL), Franklin College (IN), Howard University (DC), Kansas State University (KS), Ohio State University (OH), University of Evansville (IN), University of Tennessee (TN), University of Texas-Arlington (TX), University of Texas-San Antonio (TX), Temple University (PA), and Trinity University (TX).
Additional activities will promote recycling on individual and institutional levels. For every download of Alcoa’s Aluminate recycling application, $1 will be donated towards a $50,000 grant for KAB’s recycling programs. Recorded Webinars will reach more than 400 members of the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), NGOs and other community-based groups with insights into recycling different waste streams. Also, best practices for recycling will be on display and at work as colleges and universities compete to see who can reduce, reuse and recycle the most waste.
