Final results show that colleges and universities involved with the RecycleMania campus recycling competition composted and recycled nearly ninety million pounds of organic waste and recyclable waste material during the 2014 contest.

In total, four hundred and sixty one educational institutions across the United States and Canada participated with more than five million students involved. Ohio’s Antioch University claimed first place with a per student recycling rate of slightly over ninety three percent. Kalamazoo College in Michigan came in first at nearly forty nine pounds for most recycled pounds per person. Florida’s Valencia College took top honors in the category for least waste generated per student with a little under three pounds.

The eight-week annual college campus competition is organized in part by Keep America Beautiful, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the College and University Recycling Coalition. The recycling competition was started in 2001 as a friendly wager between Ohio University and Miami University to see who could boost recycling levels the most. There are now over six hundred schools that have participated in the challenge and the average total weight of all materials composted and recycled by all participants combined exceeds ninety one million pounds annually.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you’re a facilities manager or maintenance executive for a college or university, participating in the annual RecycleMania competition is a great way to jump start or improve your waste reduction and recycling efforts. It’s also an ideal and affordable way to secure valuable recycling bins and educational materials and resources that can help your campus to recycle waste materials more without hurting your bottom line. If your school hasn’t participated in RecycleMania yet, there’s no time like the present to make a change and sign up for the 2015 competition. You’ll go green and save green at the same time!