by jbs120809 e3 — December 9, 2009—RecycleMania 2010 is a nationwide “friendly” competition that pits colleges and universities against each other to see who can reduce, reuse and recycle the most campus waste. It offers bragging rights and special awards made out of recycled materials to the winning schools. Registration is now open for the 2010 program.
Last year 4.7 million students and 1.1 million faculty and staff from 510 participating campuses collectively recycled or composted just over 69.4 million pounds of waste during the 10-week RecycleMania competition. Participating schools represented all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and for the first time, Canada.
RecycleMania uses the competitive spirit and campus rivalries to motivate students who might not respond to other environmental messages. Though many schools have had recycling and waste prevention programs for years, studies have found that large volumes of recyclables still end up in the trash. RecycleMania both raises awareness and, at more than 80 percent of participating schools, increases recycling levels.
With each week’s reports and rankings, participating schools can watch how their program stacks up against their competitors. They can watch as the results fluctuate, and determine how to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle even more.
Starting with the 2009 competition, RecycleMania added both Myspace and FaceBook Web sites. The Myspace site is currently being updated for 2010 but is available for viewing, and the 2010 Facebook site is under construction. These sites also allow RecycleMania coordinators to network and share promotional ideas.
Registration for the competition runs now through January 14, 2010 and is open to students, student organizations, staff, faculty or facilities managers at degree-granting colleges and universities. For more information or to register visit online or contact the RecycleMania helpline at 843/278-7686. The contest begins January 17 and continues through March 27, 2010.
RecycleMania is a project of the College and University Recycling Council (CURC) and is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WasteWise Program as well as by Keep America Beautiful.
