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Colleges, Universities Recover 91 Million Pounds During EPA's RecycleMania Contest
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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.     Pennsylvania had 48 participating schools, the most of any state.

            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. 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.
            RecycleMania is an independent program of the RecycleMania Steering Committee. The competition is made possible with the sponsorship support of SCA Tissue, The Coca-Cola Company, Alcoa Foundation, Waste Management, Keep America Beautiful and the American Forest & Paper Association. Program management is provided by Keep America Beautiful with additional program support from the EPA’s WasteWise program and the College and University Recycling Coalition .
            “Congratulations – and thank you – to all the students who helped protect the environment and conserve natural resources by recycling at their colleges and universities,” said Gary Wygant, Coca-Cola Recycling vice-president of business development. “Coca-Cola is proud to help bring RecycleMania to college campuses around the country and remind students about the good things that happen when they recycle.”
            “Waste Management has had a long and successful partnership with Keep America Beautiful, and we’re excited to expand that support to RecycleMania,” said Paul Pistono, vice president, public sector services.  “As the largest recycler in North America, we are delighted that RecycleMania will showcase Waste Management’s ability to divert materials and improve recycling among colleges and universities. Our investment in innovative technologies, such as single-stream recycling, furthers our goal of providing customers with cost-efficient, environmental solutions and improving recycling rates at higher education institutions.”
            Top schools in each category earn “bragging rights,” while the winners of each are recognized with an award made of recycled glass. 
            For the full results of the competition, go to the RecycleMania Results webpage.

4/25/2011

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