The university beat hundreds of institutions to win 2013’s RecycleMania
Kansas City, Mo. – The University of Missouri-Kansas City is gearing up to defend its title as the RecycleMania Grand Champion. The annual eight-week collegiate recycling competition determines which institution can reduce, reuse and recycle the most on-campus waste. Last year, that institution was UMKC. This year, the university is hoping for a repeat performance.
The competition will run Feb. 2- Mar. 30. This will be UMKC’s seventh year participating in RecycleMania. Every year, the campus has risen in the rankings. Last year, the university ranked No. 1 out of more than 260 competing campuses in the Grand Champion category of the annual competition. UMKC won with an 86 percent recycling rate.
“We’re fortunate to have a campus community that is passionate about sustainability. Last year, we rallied around a cause and our hard work paid off. This year, I hope that we can once again raise awareness and enact good habits that stick with us all year-round,” Kaye Johnston, UMKC Sustainability coordinator, said.
Schools compete in 11 categories to see which recycles the most on a per capita basis; which produces the least amount of waste; and which recycles the largest percentage of their overall waste stream. The university will host several RecycleMania-related events during the competition. The events will appear on the UMKC Calendar.
Updated rankings published online each Friday allow schools to track their progress and rally to improve their standings against rival colleges.
“RecycleMania is exciting because it builds on traditional college rivalries by adding recycling to the list of things that schools can brag about when it comes to their archrivals,” said Stacy Wheeler, president of RecycleMania, Inc. “The competition aspect of the event makes it fun and helps to encourage everyone on the entire campus to make recycling a part of their daily routines.”
A complete list of participants can be found at RecycleManiacs.org. For more information about UMKC’s Sustainability program, visit the UMKC Sustainability blog.