Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Westmoreland County, was named the champion of the 2016 RecycleMania competition with a recycling rate of 3.40 lbs./capita.

Saint Vincent College contributed to 79 million pounds of recycle and compost recovered nationally in the recycling competition

RecycleMania is the nation’s premier waste reduction and recycling competition among colleges and universities, managed by Keep America Beautiful.

Saint Vincent was first among colleges and universities in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

“We focused our reporting efforts on paper and comingled metal, glass and plastics,” explained Beth Bollinger, chemistry lab manager and instructor. “During these two months, the waste stream was as usual and no extreme measures were taken to increase recycling during the competition period. In addition, the campus has recently begun a composting project where pre-consumer food waste from the campus food service, Parkhurst Dining, is collected, composted and will be used throughout campus. Organics, or compost, is a category that we don’t currently participate in, so with this addition, our numbers can only increase next year.”

The recycling efforts of the college have the value of 16 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is also the equivalent of taking three cars off the road or the energy consumption of one household.

The 2016 tournament featured 350 schools participating from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, with an enrollment of 4.4 million students. The American contingent of schools represents nearly one in four U.S. college students.

Competing colleges and universities are ranked according to how much recycling, trash and food waste they collect over two months.

Between the February 7 kickoff and the final recycling weigh-in on April 2, participating schools recycled or composted 79.3 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials, preventing the release of 122,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E) into the atmosphere, which is equivalent to preventing annual emissions from 24,000 cars.

Complete results for all 13 categories can be found at the RecycleMania website, including a breakout that shows how schools performed by athletic conference, institution size, state and other groupings. The national winners of each category are recognized with an award made from recycled materials.

“Research shows people are more likely to recycle when they see it as part of the culture around them,” said Brenda Pulley, senior vice president/recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “RecycleMania provides us with an opportunity to heighten awareness about the importance of recycling among college students, and help make recycling participation a core component of the college experience. Our hope is that these recycling behaviors stick with them throughout their life, creating a new generation of community stewards.”

The competition is made possible with the sponsorship support of Alcoa Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, CyclePoint from SourceAmerica and Rubbermaid Commercial Products.

Since the competition launched in 2001, millions of students from 760 colleges and universities have recycled and composted more than 820 million pounds of material during the tournament timeframe.

Together, tournament participants have prevented the release of nearly 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is comparable to removing 524,600 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

The RecycleMania program is governed by a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization called RecycleMania, Inc. made up of a board of directors who are recycling and sustainability managers from participating universities.

RecycleMania partnered with the U.S. EPA’s WasteWise Program, College and University Recycling Coalition, Keep America Beautiful, Food Recovery Network, National Wildlife Federation and Purposeful Networks.

For more information, visit the RecycleMania website.

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4/25/2016