Alcoa Foundation, KAB Partner on RecycleMania Program

Alcoa Foundation has announced that it is working with Keep America Beautiful (KAB) to educate college students through the RecycleMania program, a university-based competition that runs from Feb. 6 to April 2, 2011.

Alcoa Foundation sponsored 50,000 recycling bins and helped kick off the challenge by awarding 13 universities with six-gallon bins for use in student housing and offices. The schools were selected based on their ability to develop a strategic plan to collect the most recyclable materials.

The 13 schools receiving the bins are the following: Carnegie Mellon University, Pa.; Clemson University, S.C.; Florida A&M University, Fla.; Franklin College, Ind.; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Kansas State University; The Ohio State University; University of Evansville, Ind.; The University of Tennessee; The University of Texas-Arlington; The University of Texas-San Antonio; Temple University, Pa.; and Trinity University, Texas.

“Alcoa shares our goal of increasing recycling through greater access and participation,” says Matthew McKenna, president and CEO of KAB, in a release. “We’re thankful for this generous donation in support of RecycleMania and improved recycling on campuses nationwide.”

In 2010, 607 participating colleges and universities participated in the challenge, and collected more than 84.5 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics. This prevented the release of 137,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere.

Over the 10-week competition, colleges and universities will vie for top awards in nine categories to see who recycles the most on a per capita basis, who produces the least amount of waste, and who recycles the largest percentage of their overall waste.  For complete competition background and details, visit the RecycleMania website at www.recyclemaniacs.org.