Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Wednesday congratulated the Pennsylvania winners of the 2016 RecycleMania competition-- Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia was the Grand Champion with a recycling rate of 48.9 percent and the Per Capita Classic winner was Bucknell University in Lewisburg who recycled 26.5 pounds per capita.

“The day-to-day efforts put forth by the students and faculty of colleges and universities who participated in the competition to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to the landfill is admirable,” stated Shannon Reiter, President of Keep PA Beautiful. “KPB is proud that over 20 Pennsylvania colleges and universities participated in this worthwhile competition, demonstrating that we can all do our part to make a difference in our environment and engage others to do the same. Recycling is not only good for the environment but it also helps drive the success of the recycling market in Pennsylvania.”

“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 of 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 2016 tournament featured 350 schools participating from 48 states and the District of Columbia and Canada, with an enrollment of 4.4 million students. RecycleMania is the nation’s premier waste reduction and recycling competition and mobilizes colleges and universities to benchmark and improve efforts to reduce or eliminate waste.

The initiative is managed by Keep America Beautiful.

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

During the 2016 competition, 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.

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

For a complete list of participating schools and results go to the 2016 RecycleMania website.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, Discover them on Pinterest and visit their YouTube Channel.

Also visit the Illegal Dump Free PA website for more ideas on how to clean up communities and keep them clean and KPB’s new Electronics Waste website.

Sign up now for the 2016 Great American Cleanup of PA and set up your own cleanup and beautification event through May 31.

5/16/2016