JUNE 2008 American Recycler Newspaper

Trinity Washington University takes top honors in recycling
7.7 million pounds of waste not landfilled

In Washington, D.C., Trinity Washington University took top honors for recycling 24,761 pounds of material during the contest known as RecycleMania.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mid-Atlantic regional office promotes RecycleMania as a way to encourage colleges and universities to reduce their waste. The competition pits colleges against each other to see which ones can collect the most recyclables in 10 weeks. The winning school in each state receives a congratulatory letter and certificate from EPA along with bragging rights.

“RecycleMania has been successful in reinvigorating college campuses to minimize their waste and take other steps to help the environment,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “Participation in our region nearly doubled this past year compared to previous years, showing that college students want to be environmentally responsible.”

The combined efforts of students at the Trinity Washington University and the other mid-Atlantic schools equates to an environmental benefit of eliminating carbon emissions from 2,140 vehicles.

More than 400 schools across North America participated in the 2008 challenge, resulting in a total of 58.6 million pounds of material recycled.

RecyleMania is affiliated with EPA’s WasteWise program, a free partnership helping U.S. organizations eliminate or reduce costly municipal solid waste, benefitting both the bottom line and the environment. Since collaborating with WasteWise in 2004, RecycleMania’s enrollment has grown steadily each year.

In selecting the winning schools, results were measured as the number of pounds recycled per full time enrolled student. This year’s winners by state contributed the following amounts to the 7.7 million pounds of recycled material from the mid-Atlantic region: Trinity Washington University, 24,761 pounds; Loyola College, 118,120 pounds; University of Delaware, 433,881 pounds; Dickinson College, 100,910 pounds; Virginia Military Institute, 70,948 pounds; and University of Charleston, 8,800 pounds.