Total Pounds Recycled: 58.6 million pounds
The results are in and congratulations go out to...all 2008 participants! Whether
your school took home a national title, swept the state competition or just managed
to get all the data in, all participants deserve a round of applause for their efforts
to increase awareness of waste reduction and recycling on campus.
With a record number of schools participating, the competition was more intense than ever. In the Whole Campus Division there is one school that stole the limelight, grabbing first place in the Grand Champion and Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic and coming in second in the Cardboard and Bottles and Cans categories. For Kalamazoo College, 2008 was a capstone on their climb up the rankings that began with a 2005 3rd place finish in the Grand Champion category (then called the "Recycling Rate" competition) and most recently saw them claim the 2007 first place in Bottles and Cans.
In the Waste Minimization category, however, no one could touch first time participants, North Lake College. When all is said and done, the Blazers of Irving, Texas blew away the competition with an all time low waste generation of just 12.53 lbs. of trash and recycling per capita over ten weeks. Don’t mess with Texas or North Lake College!
Stanford University may want to consider the Gorilla as it’s mascot after eking a victory in that category over Harvard (the Stanford of the East?). Newcomer, Stephens College of Missouri managed a come-from-behind surge to grab the top spot in Paper from the Medical University of South Carolina during the last week. The military services were represented for the first time in 2008 as the US Coast Guard Academy established an early and insurmountable lead in the Cardboard category. Another newcomer, the Rhode Island School of Design took the Bottles and Cans prize with style. Finally, after weeks of back and forth competition against Bard College, the Cyclones of Mills College in California took first place in the Food Waste Organics category.
Meanwhile, over in the Partial Campus Division...
Cal State, San Marcos continued what has become the longest winning streak in RecycleMania history claiming its fourth Grand Champion victory in a row with a last minute photo-finish over Naropa University. But the San Marcos Cougars were just getting started, moving on to sweep the top slots in the Per Capita Classic, Paper and Cardboard categories as well. Northwest State Community College represented the state of Ohio in the winner’s circle, snagging the Waste Minimization prize with less than 20 lbs. of total waste accumulated per person over ten weeks. 2006 Per Capita Classic champion, Oregon State University returned to the limelight with a decisive win in the Bottles & Cans category. And fresh from their ranking in the Women’s Final Four basketball tournament, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University crushed the competition in the Gorilla Prize and can take equal pride in their second Food Waste Organics victory in a row.
Congratulations to all the winners!