Students, faculty and staff collected nearly 750,000 pounds of recyclables during the 2012 RecycleMania competition, Jan. 22-March 31. The total collection placed U-M 11th among 296 participating schools in the Gorilla Prize category.
At the conclusion of the 10-week program, U-M was among the top five of the Big Ten in all four participating categories: Grand Champion (recycling rate), Per Capita Recycling (pounds of recyclables per person), Waste Minimization (total waste per person) and Gorilla Prize (total collected recyclables).
“We are very pleased with our recycling and waste reduction rates during the competition,” says Alison Richardson, recycling coordinator with the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling, a part of Plant Building and Grounds Services.
“It’s impressive to see the impact the university community can make in such a short period of time. It serves as a motivator for students, faculty and staff to keep the competitive recycling spirit alive beyond the duration of the competition.”
The university’s recycling and waste reduction efforts during the program generated the following results:
• A 31.12 percent recycling rate per person
• 12.11 pounds of recycling per person
• 38.91 pounds of waste per person
• A total collection of 747,409 pounds of recyclables
Simultaneous to RecycleMania, the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling hosted the sixth annual Recycling Champions competition. The intra-campus competition involves campus buildings competing to beat their 2011 recycling and waste reduction totals. The competition monitors improvement and awards performance in three areas: most improved recycling rate, largest waste reduction rate and highest recycling rate.
The top buildings in each of the three categories are:
• Most improved recycling rate: Nichols Arboretum Facilities
• Largest waste reduction rate: Nichols Arboretum Facilities
• Highest recycling rate: Argus II
This marks the seventh year U-M has participated in the RecycleMania competition and the sixth year hosting the Recycling Champions competition.
View a complete listing of RecycleMania standings throughout the competition.
View a full listing of buildings participating in Recycling Champions and their results.
Learn more about U-M recycling.