What Is RecycleMania?
RecycleMania is a friendly competition among college and university recycling programs in the United States that provides the campus community with a fun, proactive activity in waste reduction. Over a 10-week period, campuses compete in different contests to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate.
The main goal of this event is to increase student awareness of campus recycling and waste minimization. All participating schools are required to report measurements on a weekly basis in pounds. RecycleMania provides many ways to gain recognition, including RecycleMania trophies, awards, and participant certificates.
In the end, RecycleMania helps all participating colleges and universities make achievements in recycling and waste reduction!
To learn more about the structure of the competition and the various
contests, please visit the Rules section.
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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.
- Organize this event successfully so it can be repeated and possibly
expanded to other campuses in the future.
Why Is There a Need for RecycleMania?
A number of universities across the United States have successfully operated waste management and recycling programs for more than 10 years. The universities participating in this competition boast some of the highest recycling and waste diversion rates in the country. Despite their recycling successes, certain on-campus facilities tend to produce most of campus waste. In particular, residence halls and dinning halls have been the largest producers of campus waste—from 30 to 70 percent of campus trash. Data from waste audits conducted at these buildings suggest that up to half of all residence hall trash is recyclable. RecycleMania began as an effort to recycle more waste from campus residential areas. As the competition evolved, it expanded to allow colleges to participate with only their residential areas or to expand their scope to include the entire campus.
RecycleMania Administration
The RecycleMania Competition is a project of the College and University Recycling Council (CURC) governed by an steering committee comprised of six individuals. These steering committee members are responsible for setting the rules and structure of the competition, as well as looking after its long term strategic planning. Committee members are typically professionals involved with waste reduction and sustainability issues on college campuses. The current steering committee includes Stacy Wheeler, University of North Florida; Deb Hanson, University of Arizona; Jack Debell, University of Colorado, Boulder; Rob Gogan, Harvard University; Ed Newman, Ohio University; Karyn Kaplan, University of Oregon.
Staff administration for RecycleMania is provided by the National Recycling Coalition (NRC). The NRC is a national, non-profit advocacy group with members that span all aspects of waste reduction, reuse and recycling in North America. NRC’s objective is to eliminate waste and promote sustainable economies though advancing sound management practices for raw materials in North America. NRC works with its members and partners to sponsor programs and stakeholder forums that provide tools and nurture solutions for the recycling industry. For more information about the NRC please visit http://www.nrc-recycle.org.
Financial and logistical support is generously provided by The Coca Cola Company. Learn more about Coca Cola’s environmental programs at: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/environment.html
College and University Recycling Council (CURC)
As a technical council of the National Recycling Coalition, CURC provides networking opportunities and technical resources to its membership of professional recycling and solid waste managers. In addition to the RecycleMania competition, CURC provides member resources including web-based technical manuals and white papers, annual workshop and campus recycling tour in conjunction with the NRC conference, an ongoing webinar series and an information exchange listserv. Learn more about CURC at http://nrc-recycle.org/curc.aspx
History of RecycleMania
RecycleMania began in February 2001 when Ed Newman (Ohio University) and Stacy Edmonds Wheeler (Miami University) decided that something had to be done to increase recycling in the residence and dinning halls on their campuses. RecycleMania was born! During this 10-week competition, Miami University and Ohio University went head-to-head to see which school could recycle the most. The first year, Miami University won the competition over Ohio University.
RecycleMania gained momentum in the 2002 and 2003 competitions, approximately doubling participation each year. In 2002 and 2003, Bowling Green State University claimed the title, recycling 52.5 pounds per students for its second victory.
In 2004, 11 new schools joined the competition, raising the total number of participating schools to 17, and Miami University again climbed to the top. In 2004, RecycleMania partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program to enhance and expand the competition, and the initiative won the National Recycling Coalition’s Outstanding Recycling Innovation Award.
In the 2005 competition, defending champion Miami University triumphed in the Per Capita competition, while California State University San Marcos won the Recycling Rate contest.
RecycleMania 2006 included 93 colleges and universities from around the country and expanded to include various contests. The 2006 competition saw new contests, including the Grand Champion and Waste Minimization. Cal State San Marcos took the Grand Champion trophy, while Point Loma Nazarene University generated the least amount of waste and wom the Waste Minimization contest. RecycleMania 2006 also saw Oregon State Univeristy win the Per Capita Classic, ousting three-time champion Miami University from the throne.
The 2007 competition saw the number of participants more than double from the past year, with 201 schools battling for RecycleMania glory. For complete results, visit the results page.
Questions?
If you have questions, please contact the RecycleMania Helpline at (202) 903 0851 or recyclemania@nrc-recycle.org.