National Wildlife Federation and RecycleMania Inspire Young Leaders to take Action to Reduce Campus Waste

  • 10/17/18

RESTON, VA – The National Wildlife Federation has announced a new partnership with RecycleMania, a college and university recycling competition to promote waste reduction and recycling activities on college campuses and in their nearby communities. 2019 RecycleMania registration is now open.

Last year, more than 300 schools participated in RecycleMania, with active participation by 3.6 million students and faculty. Participating campuses: 

  • recycled or composted 68.6 million pounds of waste; and
  • prevented the release of 94,152 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E) into the atmosphere, the equivalent of emissions from 20,160 cars. 

The goal of this coming year’s campaign is to exceed these accomplishments by engaging more students and campuses on working hard to keep discarded solid waste out of the national environment.  

Since the competition launched in 2001, millions of students at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities have recycled and composted over 960 million pounds of material during the tournament timeframe. Together, tournament participants have prevented the release of nearly 1.46 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is comparable to removing over 300,000 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

The National Wildlife Federation sees getting a handle on trash and related pollution as critical to the future of wildlife. Each year, copious amounts of plastics and other recyclable materials end up in the natural environment—our rivers, lakes, and oceans.  In the United States, we throw away 35 billion plastic water bottles every year. Much of this plastic ultimately ends up in the ocean, taking the lives of tens of thousands of marine animals, millions of sea birds, and countless numbers of fish and other creatures every year. By recycling and responsibly disposing of waste we can better protect our wildlife, so iconic species like sea turtles and whales remain healthy for generations to come.

“The National Wildlife Federation has been working with campuses on sustainability efforts, including waste reduction and recycling for nearly 30 years,” explains Kevin Coyle, vice president of Education, National Wildlife Federation. “This campus competition will help millions take actions and learn behaviors that will save fish and wildlife and clean up the human environment.” 

Students can make a huge difference today and in the future. For example, students have conducted No More Bottles campaigns, which resulted in the installation of new drinking fountains at one school. They also supported the sale of reusable bottles.

“This new added partnership is a huge milestone for the national RecycleMania competition” says RecycleMania, Inc. Co-founder and President, Stacy Wheeler. “We believe that teaming up with the National Wildlife Federation will help further advance our goals of improving recycling collections and reducing waste in our communities.”

By partnering with RecycleMania, National Wildlife Federation will be able to reach even more young leaders and encourage them to make a difference on campus and beyond.

The RecycleMania Board of Directors is currently seeking several (3 to 5) interested individuals to be part of the upcoming 2019 board.  Please click here for details. Interested candidates should submit a 400-word statement of interest before the end of the business day on Friday, November 2, 2018. 

Visit the National Wildlife Federation Media Center at NWF.org/News.

TheNational Wildlife Federation is America's largest conservation organization, uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

RecycleMania, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides tools and opportunities that inspire, empower, and mobilize colleges and universities to benchmark and improve efforts to reduce or eliminate waste. Since 2001, approximately 1,000 colleges and universities from across the U.S. and Canada have participated in RecycleMania’s fun and friendly annual recycling competition. For more information, go to www.RecycleMania.org.

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