FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2008
S.C. schools honored in national recycling competition
COLUMBIA – Twelve South Carolina colleges and universities recycled more than 1.3 million pounds of material as part of RecycleMania, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“RecycleMania is a nationwide environmentally friendly competition of colleges and universities to determine which schools could recycle the most material and generate the least waste,” said Kent Coleman, director of DHEC’s Division of Mining and Solid Waste Management. “Each year, South Carolina’s colleges and universities continue to be among the leaders in RecycleMania. That’s not surprising because South Carolina has some of the best college and university recycling programs in the country.”
Coleman said that Bob Jones University, Charleston Southern University, The Citadel, Clemson University, Coker College, College of Charleston, Furman University, Lander University, the Medical University of South Carolina, USC-Aiken, Winthrop University and Wofford College were among more than 400 schools from 46 states that participated in the seventh annual RecycleMania competition. As part of the 10-week competition, colleges and universities engaged in an environmentally friendly rivalry to determine which schools could recycle the most and generate the least waste.
“MUSC ranked third in the nation by recycling more than 30 pounds of paper per person and also finished third by recycling nearly 24 pounds of cardboard per person,” Coleman said. “Overall, MUSC recycled more than 54 pounds per person ranking fifth in the nation.”
Coleman also said Bob Jones University placed 12th for recycling more than 20 pounds of paper per person and nearly 11 pounds of cardboard per person to finish in 21st place. Over the 10-week period, nearly 34 pounds per person were recycled.
“Wofford College reduced its waste to about 95 pounds per person versus the average South Carolinian who generates 308 pounds of waste in the same 10-week time frame,” Coleman said
According to Coleman, several other S.C. schools ranked among the best in the nation. Clemson University ranked seventh for recycling nearly 350,000 pounds of material in the partial campus category. Wofford College ranked 26th for recycling nearly 14 pounds per person of paper in the whole campus category. Furman University ranked fifth in the amount of food service organics recycled per person in the partial campus category.
For more information on RecycleMania, visit http://www.recyclemaniacs.org. RecycleMania is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program and the National Recycling Coalition.
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For more information:
Kristen Gordon – (803) 896-4223
E-mail – gordonkc@dhec.sc.gov
or
Adam Myrick – (803) 898-3884
E-mail – myrickar@dhec.sc.gov
Alec Cooley – (843) 278-7686
National Recycling Coalition
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