In a competition sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, Neumann University placed first in the country in the Campus Race to Zero Waste small campus division for per capita recycling.

The university’s eco-friendly system logged 39.6 pounds of recycled material for every student, professor, and staff member on campus. This total also earned second place in the country among all 200 participating colleges, regardless of size.

The National Wildlife Federation contest aims to increase awareness on campuses about methods of reducing waste.

The per capita metric measures the amount of recycled paper, cardboard, bottles, and cans collected per person. The results are calculated by dividing campus recycling weight totals by each school’s full-time equivalent student, faculty, and staff populations.

“The university’s success in this year’s Campus Race to Zero Waste reinforced the student body’s focus on the environmental impact we achieve through recycling,” said Bill Leonard, university director of facilities and maintenance.

According to contest officials, Campus Race to Zero Waste kept 205 million single-use plastics out of landfills and prevented the release of 29,108 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the equivalent of avoiding the annual emissions of 6,128 cars.

“Participating in the Campus Race to Zero Waste not only brought attention to the need for and importance of recycling but reiterated that what our campus is doing and the changes we have made regarding recycling is impactful and working,” said Jess Webster, executive director of events and conference services.

The competition was initially called “Recyclemania” when it launched in 2001, starting as a challenge between Ohio University and Miami University.

To learn more about Neumann University’s sustainability programs, visit Sustainability | Neumann University.