The National Wildlife Federation recently awarded Kent State University first place in two categories from the 2021 Campus Race to Zero Waste competition: Zero Waste and Electronics Recycling – Total Pounds Recycled.
Kent State competed against 24 colleges in the Electronics Recycled category and won the Zero Waste category. The competition occurred during the eight-week period of Jan. 31 to March 27.
Melanie Knowles, manager of sustainability at Kent State, said she appreciates the recognition and is excited about the achievements of the university.
“It is an honor for Kent State to achieve these wins, and the credit goes to everyone who has made an effort to be conscious of their waste and recycling,” Knowles said. “We know that this doesn’t just happen during the competition. Our community is striving toward zero waste year-round.”
Campus Race to Zero Waste, previously known as RecycleMania, is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. The competition is managed by the National Wildlife Federation and governed by Recyclemania Inc.
Colleges across the United States and Canada report the amount of recycling and trash collected each week. Each university is ranked in various categories based on who recycles the most on a per capita basis, which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and which schools generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling.
