For the second year in a row, University of Washington's Seattle campus came in first among its Pac-12 competitors in overall waste reduction during RecycleMania, a national collegiate waste diversion tournament. With an overall reduction rate of 55%, the University ranked number 25 on a list of 207 competing institutions.
During the eight-week long event that ran from February 8 to April 1, 2016, a student-led committee developed and led all outreach activities, which included: a week-long donut giveaway tabling event on Red Square, support from Dubs (the UW mascot) to help raise awareness during kick-off week, a social media comment contest, a recycled art contest for residence hall and Greek Row students, and an online sustainability pledge.
Special kudos go out to the RecycleMania student planning committee, our campus partners in Housing & Food Services (HFS), Students Expressing Environmental Dedication (SEED) and UW Sustainability for their continued to support in UW Recycling's fourth year of participation in the tournament.
"I think this speaks volumes to the University’s commitment to recycling and diverting waste from the landfill. Thanks to everyone who participated and continues to help us excel in our waste diversion efforts," said Emily Newcomer, assistant director of UW Recycling.
About RecycleMania
RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over an 8-week period each spring, colleges across the United States and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week and are in turn ranked in various categories based on who recycles the most on a per capita basis, as well as which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and which schools generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling. To learn more about RecycleMania, visit www.recyclemania.org.
About UW Recycling
UW Recycling oversees the University of Washington’s comprehensive Recycling & Solid Waste Management Plan. This plan includes waste reduction, waste collection and disposal, administrative oversight and outreach efforts designed to educate the campus community regarding recycling opportunities and services. Recycling at the University is designed to be visible and convenient and to maximize the recovery of waste. For more information, visit: uwrecycling.com.