The following rules define the structure of the RecycleMania competition. RecycleMania is solely intended for colleges and universities located in the United States. If you have questions, please contact the RecycleMania Helpline at (843) 278 7686 or recyclemania@nrc-recycle.org.

**View Significant Changes for 2008**

Competitions

RecycleMania is made up of four primary competitions, in addition to four targeted material competitions. Colleges and universities can choose to participate in any or all categories. Click the category titles for in depth explanations of each.

  • Stephen K Gaski Per Capita Classic
    Schools compete to see which can collect the largest amount of acceptable recyclables per person. This is the original RecycleMania competition.

  • Waste Minimization
    Schools compete to see which produces the least amount of municipal solid waste (including both recyclables and trash) per person. This competition is intended to reward those schools that generate the least amount of waste and recyclables, emphasizing reuse and source reduction over recycling.

  • Grand Champion
    Schools that participate in both the Per Capita Classic and the Waste Minimization competitions are automatically eligible to become the Grand Champion of RecycleMania. The Grand Champion is the school that, based on their combined results, demonstrates the greatest achievement in both source reduction and recycling.

  • Gorilla Prize
    Schools that participate in either the Per Capita Classic or the Waste Minimization competition are automatically eligible to win the Gorilla Prize. This award honors the school that recycles the highest gross tonnage of materials during the ten-week competition, regardless of campus population.

  • Targeted Materials
    In addition to reporting the total amount of materials recycled, schools may compete four categories of targeted materials including bottles and cans, corrugated cardboard, food service organics, and paper.

How to Participate

  • Who can Participate?
    RecycleMania is open to all degree-granting institutions of higher learning in North America. The competition is not open to K-12 schools or local governments.

  • Register
    To compete in RecycleMania, schools must register as a participant by January 18, 2008.

  • Whole Campus Division and Partial Campus Division
     Participating schools are ranked in either the Whole Campus Division or Partial Campus Division depending on how they wish to compete. As the titles imply, schools wishing to include their whole campus including auxiliaries and satellite facilities register accordingly. Those planning to focus their participation on select buildings or populations such as residence halls, should opt to participate in the Partial Campus Division. RecycleMania will recognize the two divisions separately in the weekly rankings and in determining the ultimate winners for each category.

    Generally speaking, schools that register in the Whole Campus Division will need to include material weights from all facilities associated with the campus including satellite facilities and campuses. Wholly separate campuses within a college or university system are considered separate participants. Schools that register in the Partial Campus Division may define the area or scope of participation as they choose, so long as they are able to 1) identify all students and employees generating material weights within the defined parameters, and 2) can isolate and track all relevant material weights generated within that area. Only one registration is allowed per institution. In cases where an entire campus is registered, subsets of the campus will not be allowed. In situations where multiple subsets of a campus attempt to register, RecycleMania administrators will work with registrants to determine which will represent the school.

    Winners of the Whole Campus Division competitions will receive awards. Partial campus victors will receive certificates. All winners will be acknowledged at the annual National Recycling Coalition Congress and Exposition.

  • Provide campus population
    Six of the RecycleMania competitions (Per Capita Classic, Waste Minimization, Food Service Organics, Bottles and Cans, Corrugated Cardboard and Paper) are ranked on a per capita basis. All reported weights are divided by a school’s assigned FTE population to arrive at the per capita weights upon which the competition rankings are based. Two different methods are used to derive a school’s FTE population depending on their scope of participation.

    Whole campuses within the United States will have their FTE population determined using figures supplied by the school to the federal Department of Education (DOE)’s IPEDS program (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System). All schools in the United States are required by law to supply certain data to the DOE, including student and employee population, according to audited standards. This information in turn is made public on the IPEDS website. RecycleMania will gather participating school’s FTE directly from IPEDS and use this data to determine per capita rankings. Schools will see their FTE population as reported to the DOE when they register for the competition.

    Schools registering only a subset of the campus are required to submit population data for the area or subset that will be participating, including the number of residential students, full-time non-residential students, part-time non-residential students, full-time faculty and staff, and part-time faculty and staff. Schools located outside the United States will have their FTE population tracked in the same manner as campus subsets regardless of their scope of participation.

    Further questions about population?

  • Collect materials for recycling
     Each category has a defined set recyclable materials that can be counted in the weekly weight totals. Aside from the targeted material categories, the following materials are reported for the main categories:

    • Per Capita Classic:
      • Bottles and Cans
      • Paper
      • Corrugated Cardboard

    • Waste Minimization:
      • Trash
      • Bottles and Cans
      • Paper
      • Corrugated Cardboard

    • Grand Champion:
      • Trash
      • Bottles and Cans
      • Paper
      • Corrugated Cardboard

    • Gorilla Prize:
      • Bottles and Cans
      • Paper
      • Corrugated Cardboard

    For each material, participants must be able to track and report all weights within the defined scope of participation, whether it is an entire campus or sub-section. University coordinators are required to define this measurement area on the registration form, and the area must remain constant throughout the 10 weeks of competition.

RecycleMania has defined the scope of the competition as follows:

Acceptable Recyclables

    • Paper
      • Boxboard
      • Catalogs
      • Hard and softbound books
      • Junk mail
      • Magazines
      • Newspaper
      • Office Paper(all colors)
      • Phone books
    • Containers
      • #1 through #7 Plastic (e.g., soda, water, juice, beer, laundry detergent bottles)
      • Aluminum cans
      • Glass
      • Steel cans
    • Cardboard
      • Baled and unbaled cardboard boxes

Unacceptable Materials

    • Appliances
    • Computers
    • Materials from construction and demolition projects
    • Electronics
    • Food service organics*
    • Furniture
    • Industrial plastics
    • Other miscellaneous recyclable items
    • Pallets
    • Scrap metal
    • Scrap wood
    • Yard waste

    * Food service organics may not be used when calculating weekly recycling numbers for the main categories; however, participants are encouraged to report food service organics separately in order to qualify for Targeted Materials recognition.

  • Track recycling and waste data
    Individual schools are responsible for accurately measuring their own solid waste and recyclables. There are two ways schools can track their recycling and waste numbers: actual or estimated weight (in pounds). If actual weights are not available, schools track materials by volume and use the approved volume-to-weight conversion factors (241K PDF) to derive acceptable weight estimates for segregated materials.

    Schools may only report material weights generated on campus or within the defined sub-section registered for the competition. Off-site materials brought to campus by commuter students, faculty, and staff shall not be included in this competition.

    Food waste must be tracked according to its actual or estimated actual weight. Multipliers are not permitted for adding moisture removed by pulping systems. All food waste must be reported in the form it would otherwise be weighed when being disposed.

    Please visit Measuring for RecycleMania for more information on measurement methodologies.

  • Report recycling and waste data
    Schools report their numbers using the online Weekly Reporting form located in the Forms section of the RecycleMania Web site. Measurements are due by 12 p.m. Wednesday following a full collection week (Sunday-Saturday). Weight reports may be submitted in US Standard pounds or Metric kilograms according to the standard chosen during initial registration. Schools dependent on monthly or infrequent weight reports may report estimates initially and return to revise them later with actual weights. Once participants report their numbers, RecycleMania will calculate the weekly standings among participating schools. Each competition has its own method to calculate results, outlined in the following links:


    During the competition, results are posted weekly on Fridays on the RecycleMania web site.

    To see a sample of the weekly reporting form, click here.

  • Publicize winners
    At the completion of the competition, all participating universities must publicize the winners in the school newspaper and/or other campus media (e.g., radio and the campus television station).

Additional Rules

  • RecycleMania is open to all degree-granting institutions of higher learning in North America.

  • RecycleMania administrators may request additional information about the methodologies used to derive weights estimates and population figures. Where numbers are thought to be inaccurate, participants will be consulted and may be asked to alter them. In extreme situations, RecycleMania administrators reserve the right to remove participants from specific categories if agreement cannot be reached on appropriate numbers.

Code of Conduct

All schools compete under the following principles:

  • The competition's goal is to increase student awareness and involvement in campus recycling through collaboration and partnership with participating schools.
  • RecycleMania is a cooperative, friendly competition—schools will not tolerate discourteous and offensive behaviors.

  • No schools "lose"—all participants win through their achievements in waste reduction and recycling.

Questions?

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