Recyclemania

RecycleMania is a competition between colleges and universities in North America to reduce waste. The competition began in 2001 as a way for Miami University and Ohio University to compete to reduce waste in campus residences and dining halls. With each year, more colleges and universities join in on the ten week competition, growing to 510 participating schools during the 2009 competition. It has been found that while schools are all different sizes and are in different stages of their waste reduction strategies, there is always still more ways to reduce waste. Because many colleges and schools are like small cities, reducing waste stream has a huge impact on the community. Further, RecyleMania is a way in which the whole campus can be involved in an EXCITING way that both helps the environment and encourages school spirit and friendly competition. RecycleMania has received nationwide attention and has been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe , Cincinnati Enquirer, as well as school newspapers throughout the country. Registration is now open for the 2010 competition which will run from January 17th through March 27th.

RecycleMania is governed by a steering committee of six individuals that are involved in setting rules for the competition as well as creating a strategic, long-term vision for Recylcemania. The steering committee is a subgroup of College and University Recycling Council (CURC). It is also associated with Keep America Beautiful (KAB), US EPA’s WasteWise Program, and the Coca Cola Company.

Overall Goals for RecycleMania -
• Have a fair and friendly recycling competition. -
• Increase recycling participation by students and staff. -
• Heighten awareness of schools' waste management and recycling programs. -
• Expand economic opportunities while addressing environmental issues in a positive way. -
• Lower waste generated on-campus by reducing, reusing and recycling. -
• Have the competition act as a catalyst for colleges and universities to build and expand waste reduction programs on campus. -

Divisions
- • RecycleMania is separated into two divisions; the Competitive Division and the Benchmark Division. -
• The Competition Division includes the official nationwide competition and rankings. Only schools in this division are eligible to win in each category. To participate in the Competition Division, schools must be a degree-granting college or university in North America offering on-site courses. They must also participate with their entire campus including auxiliaries and satellite facilities. The schools must be able to track and report data and their official contact person must complete an online certification module. -
• The Benchmark Division is less formal and the schools will not be ranked or eligible to win any of the categories. Benchmark schools still report their recycling and trash data, but are unregulated in how they choose to participate. Benchmark schools may choose to include only a segment of the campus, such as their residence halls only. The Benchmark Division is open to any institution of higher learning in the world.



Participation Categories
RecycleMania has four targeted material competitions:

• The Grand Champion category determines a school’s recycling rate as a percentage of its overall waste generation. They combine trash and core recyclable materials to establish a measurement of how much this school has achieved in source reduction and recycling. Trash, bottles/cans, paper, and corrugated cardboard can be included in the weekly reports.
• The Stephen K. Gaski Per Capita Classic is the category where schools compete to see which collects the largest combined amount of paper, cardboard, and bottles/cans per person.
• The Waste Minimization category determines which school produces the least amount of municipal solid waste per person. This category rewards those schools that generate the least amount of combined waste and recyclables, which emphasizes reuse and source reduction over simply recycling. Trash, bottles/cans, paper, and corrugated cardboard can be included in the weekly reports.
• The Gorilla Prize category recognizes the larger schools that recycle the highest gross tonnage of combined paper, cardboard, and bottles/cans during the competition regardless of campus population.

In addition to the four primary competitions, schools can compete in four Targeted Material categories that include ‘Paper’, ‘Corrugated Cardboard’, ‘Bottles and Cans’, and ‘Food Service Organics’.

Acceptable Materials

• Paper
Boxboard / chipboard
Catalogs / Junk mail / Magazines / Phone books
Hard and softbound books
Newspaper
Office Paper (all colors)

• Bottles and cans
#1 through #7 Plastic
Aluminum / Steel cans
Glass bottles and jars

• Cardboard
Baled and unbaled cardboard boxes
Boxboard / chipboard

• Food Service Organics
Pre and post-consumer food waste
Compostable dinnerware, napkins, etc.

• Trash
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Online Recording Database
• The official Recyclemania contact person from each school submits weekly data to the database. The website database, which automatically computes and shows the school’s weekly results from each category, ranks the schools continually throughout the competition. Weight reports can be submitted in US Standard pounds or Metric kilograms according to the standard chosen during initial registration. All recycling and trash data are submitted as weight not volume.
• Schools compete with the knowledge that the competition's goal is to increase student awareness and involvement in campus recycling through collaboration and partnership with participating schools. Cheating, discourteous or offensive behaviors are grounds for a school to be removed from the RecycleMania competition.

RecycleMania 2009
The 2009 competition was a record breaking year in which 69.4 million pounds of waste was recycled. Many schools including Cal State San Marcos, Rutgers, Kalamazoo College, Northlake College, and Stephens College managed to maintain their top recycling status while other colleges such as Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Connecticut College, SUNY Binghamton, and Northwest State Community College managed to break into the top three in each of their categories. A notable performance from newcomer Santa Monica College which in their first week reported the lowest numbers in the history of RecycleMania.

The winners for 2009 are as follows:
Grand Champion
California State University, San Marcos
Waste Minimization
North Lake College
Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic
McNeese State University
Gorilla Prize
Rutgers University
Paper
Stephens College
Corrugated Cardboard
McNeese State University
Bottles & Cans''
Kalamazoo College
Food Service Organics''
Bard College