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Final Results—RecycleMania 2009

Total Pounds Recycled: 69.4 million pounds

With a final dash to the finish line, RecycleMania 2009 has ended and it's time for the post-game analysis. This year's competition saw a mix of powerhouse recycling schools from past tournaments jockeying to outdo equally impressive first-time colleges and universities new to RecycleMania. Several schools managed to maintain dynasties from past years (Cal State San Marcos, Rutgers, Kalamazoo College, Northlake College, Stephens College), while others like Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Connecticut College, SUNY Binghamton and Northwest State Community College improved on last year's results to land within the top three of their respective categories.

Participating for the first time with their entire campus, California State University, San Marcos claimed their fifth Grand Champion victory in as many years. Meanwhile first time participant, McNeese State University provided the Cinderella story by grabbing both the Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic and Corrugated Cardboard awards. What makes this Lousiana school's performance all the more impressive is that it is entirely student organized.

While the results of the Grand Champion and Per Capita Classic were impressive, there was real drama taking place in the Waste Minimization and Food Service Organics categories. You would never know the Corsairs of Santa Monica College were first time "Maniacs" as they burst out the gate in week 1 with some of the lowest waste generation numbers ever seen. As the weeks went by they maintained the top slot, shadowed throughout by 2008 winner, Northlake College. Finally in week 9 the Northlake Blazers made their move, pulling ahead by less than a quarter of a pound in per capita waste generation. Week 10 saw them build on that lead to retain the Waste Minimization trophy for a second year. Meanwhile over in Food Service Organics, the same group of five schools that held the top slots in 2008 (Mills College #1, Bard College #2, Middlebury College #3, Princeton University #4 and University of San Francisco #5) claimed the top five again while trading positions among themselves. Middlebury gave up an early lead only to close within half a pound of Bard College in pursuit of first place. Third and fourth place went to cross-Bay rivals University of San Francisco and Mills College, respectively, followed by Princeton in fifth place.

Last year's powerhouse winner of both the Per Capita Classic and Grand Champion, Kalamazoo College earned its way into the winners circle for the third year in a row, claiming the Bottles and Cans prize. Stephens College again claimed victory in the Paper category, holding off last minute insurgent Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering with less than a pound between them.

Speaking of Olin College, our unofficial honorable mention goes to this Needham, MA-based school for their impressive come-from-behind bid to grab the Grand Champion and Per Capita Classic, as well as Paper awards. Showing the nimbleness of a small 400 FTE campus, Olin managed in the final weeks to land itself in the top three of each category. In the Grand Champion they squeaked past New Mexico State University by .2 pounds for second place, while surrendering the same position in the Per Capita Classic to Kalamazoo by just .3 pounds.

We close off our post-tournament wrap-up with a tip of the hat to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University for their number one placement in the Gorilla Prize. Giving true meaning to the category name, Rutgers crushed the competition, weighing in with more than twice the total recycling weights of the next highest school.

Congratulations to all the category winners. Most importantly, congratulations to all schools that participated regardless of ranking. The true measure of success in RecycleMania continues to be measured by the degree to which students and staff are engaged in recycling and waste reduction issues. To those schools that organized rallies, dorm competitions or simply posted reminder emails out to the campus community, we salute you for helping promote resource conservation on the grassroots level.

To view past results, click on the year listed below:

• Results—RecycleMania 2008
• Results—RecycleMania 2007
• Results—RecycleMania 2005
• Results—RecycleMania 2004
• Results—RecycleMania 2003
• Results—RecycleMania 2002
• Results—RecycleMania 2001

2006 RecycleMania data is not available at this time. Contact the helpline with questions.

Questions?

If you have questions, please contact the RecycleMania Helpline at (843) 278-7686 or helpline@recyclemaniacs.org.