RecycleMania 2008 has begun, and the competition is taking Philadelphia and the surrounding region by storm. Schools including Drexel, Penn, Rosemont, St. Joseph’s, Temple, University of the Science in Philadelphia, and Villanova are amongst the 400 schools nationwide involved in the campaign to use student awareness as a means to generate and increase campus recycling and minimize total waste.

RecycleMania is a 10-week contest designed to encourage waste reduction by college and university-recycling programs in the United States. According to the RecycleMania website, schools can chose in which particular categories they wish to participate, for example: “the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or the highest recycling rate.” According to Anne Papageorge, vice president of Facilities and Real Estate Services at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn currently recycles between 18 and 20 percent of its waste. To increase this statistic, Penn will compete in the Per Capita Classic or the competition that measures the amount of recyclables per person.

Ryan Wieciker, a University of Pennsylvania senior, vice chair of the Residential Advisory Board and a member of Penn’s RecycleMania planning board, explained “Recycling is not just about sorting your trash, recycling is also about the reuse of materials. Our events are aimed at raising awareness around both of these issues and to encourage everyone in the Penn community to do more.”

The findings on the RecycleMania website indicate, the reason for such efforts and involvement throughout the country are rooted in the fact that, “residence halls and dinning halls have been the largest producers of campus waste—from 30 to 70 percent of campus trash. Data from waste audits conducted at these buildings suggest that up to half of all residence hall trash is recyclable.”

The schools of the Philadelphia community, like all other participants involved in the efforts to combat excessive waste, are obliged to report measurements in pounds on a weekly basis. The winners of the competitions are awarded prizes including trophies, awards and participant certificates.

RecycleMania originated in 2001 when Ed Newman of Ohio University and Stacy Edmonds of Miami University wanted to increase the recycling efforts in the resident halls and cafeterias at their schools. Their two schools contended in the first RecycleMania competition and as the years pass, the number of participants continues to significantly multiply. With increased involvement, schools can now not only compete on the residential level, but also in all elements of campus life.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise Program and the National Recycling Coalition support RecycleMania. RecycleMania is also coordinated as a project of the National Recycling Coalition’s College and University Council.

For more information about RecycleMania, visit: www.recyclemania.org.