The University of Wyoming placed among the top 30 percent of schools participating in a national recycling competition, Recylemania.
The contest measured the amount of trash and recycled materials collected at more than 600 schools nationwide to determine which participants had highest recycling rate, says Tod Scott, who heads UW's recycling program. He says the participating colleges collected more than 84 million pounds of materials during the 10-week competition.
Scott says UW performed well in several categories:
-- In the Per Capita contest, schools competed to collect the largest combined amount of paper, cardboard, bottles and cans per person. UW was 120th among 346 schools, with a total of 13.34 pounds recycled per person.
-- In the Waste Minimization competition, schools competed to see who produced the least waste, including both trash and recyclables. UW produced only 35.17 pounds of waste per person, placing 62nd among 199 schools participating. UW collected 9.15 pounds of paper per person for recycling, scoring 36th out of 223 schools. Scott says UW collected 3.10 pounds of cardboard per person, and 1.10 pounds of bottles and cans per person.
-- The total amount of recyclables collected was measured for each school and the participating school with the largest total amount won the Gorilla Prize that recognizes schools with outstanding recycling facilities and habits. UW collected a total of 176,011 pounds of recyclables during the competition, for 102nd place among 346 schools.
