RecycleMania Coming to a Campus Near You

Registration for the annual Recyclemania competition has officially begun, calling on college campuses to show off their passion and commitment to recycling.

Last year’s competition resulted in almost 70 million pounds of waste recycled or composted, through the participation of 510 schools over a 10-week period.

In last year's competition, San Marcos recycled 4.23 pounds of paper person, 1.13 pounds of corrugated cardboard per person, .20 of aluminum per person and .02 pounds of food service organics per person. The university’s full-time campus population is 8,781. Photo: RecycleMania

RecycleMania offers prizes both for most total waste recycled and highest per-student basis, so both small and large campuses are viable candidates. The “Grand Champion” top three finalists are determined by the percentage of overall waste recycled.

Last year the Grand Champion was California State University, San Marcos, which has won five times and has a 61.5 percent recycling rate. A five-year champion, the university has claimed the top spot for 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Almost 200 schools have already registered for 2010′s competition. So far, 155 have registered for the Competition Division. Others have opted for the Benchmark Division, which is for schools only participating in certain sections (e.g. residence halls) or those that offer a Web-based program.

To sign up, you’ll need some specific information about the current waste output of the campus. Registration ends Jan. 14, and the competition itself runs Jan. 17 to March 27, 2010.

RecycleMania is put on by the College and University Recycling Council (CURC) with support from the EPA’s WasteWise Program and Keep America Beautiful.