Contact:
Jack DeBell, (303) 492-8307
Corey Reynolds, (303) 492-8308
Greg Swenson, (303) 492-3113

Jan. 26, 2005

CU TO COMPETE IN NATIONAL RECYCLING CONTEST

The University of Colorado at Boulder this spring will compete against nearly 50 colleges and universities across the country to see which campus is top recycler.

Known as "RecycleMania," the contest begins Jan. 30 and runs through April 10, and is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The winning school will receive a RecycleMania trophy and bragging rights among the growing number of schools nationally with successful recycling programs, according to Jack DeBell, director of CU Recycling.

"The University of Colorado has a strong reputation for having one of the top recycling programs in the nation," said DeBell. "In 1995, the National Recycling Coalition honored CU-Boulder with its first Outstanding University Recycling Program award.  Recently, however, colleges and universities across the country have boosted their efforts.  This contest will show how good CU really is," he said.

In 2004, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, won the contest by collecting 58 pounds per student during the 10-week competition. This year the contest allows campuses to compete by pounds of recyclables collected per student, or by the on-campus recycling rate, which is how CU-Boulder will be measured.  CU-Boulder currently recycles about 30 percent of its campus waste, but that rate will need to increase to win the competition.

"If the Colorado Buffalos step-up their efforts by recycling half of the recyclables currently thrown away, CU would remain one of the top campus recyclers in the country," DeBell said.  "This contest is not a spectator sport.  Person by person and pound by pound, universities like CU are making a difference."

Other schools competing include Colorado State University, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, Harvard University, University of California at Berkeley and the University of Oregon.

Established in 1976, CU Recycling advises other schools and institutions in Colorado and around the country, and operates a comprehensive program to divert materials from landfills.  In 2000, the White House Task Force on Recycling selected CU Recycling as the nation's model campus recycling program.  The program also has received awards for its recycling efforts from the EPA and the National Recycling Coalition.

CU Recycling will post recycling results and links to national rankings during the contest on its campus Web site http://www.colorado.edu/recycling.  For more information contact CU Recycling at (303) 492-8308, or visit the "RecycleMania" Web site at http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/.