The University of Rochester joined more than 3.4 million college students and staff across the country in a competition to reduce the campus waste footprint through minimization efforts by donating, composting and recycling more than 29.4 million pounds of waste. As a result, collectively, we have kept more than 200 million single-use plastic containers out of landfills and prevented the release of 29,108 metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equal to avoiding the annual emissions from 6,128 cars.
Kristy Jones, director of higher education programs at National Wildlife Federation said, “The collective efforts to minimize waste and reduce stress on natural resources is inspiring and creating a better world for wildlife and the environment.”
“Congratulations to all participating campuses,” says Stacy Wheeler, president and co-founder of the competition. “Annually the Campus Race to Zero Waste competition provides key tools and opportunities that inspire, empower and mobilize colleges and universities to improve their efforts to benchmark and promote their zero waste practices.”
Congratulations to the 2023 Competition Winners:
Zero Waste Category:
- Small campus: Macalester College, Minnesota
- Medium: No campuses named in this category for the 2023 competition
- Large campus: California State University, Dominguez Hills, California
- 2nd Place: Kent State University, Ohio
Food Organics Category:
- Small campus: Macalester College, Minnesota
- 2nd Place: Aquinas College, Michigan
- Medium campus: Loyola Marymount University, California
- 2nd Place: Bowling Green State University, Ohio
- Large campus: Stanford University, California
- 2nd Place: American University, District of Columbia
Diversion Category:
- Small campus: Macalester College, Minnesota
- 2nd Place: Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Wisconsin
- Medium campus: Loyola Marymount University, California
- 2nd Place: Youngstown State University, Ohio
- Large campus: University of Ottawa, Canada
- 2nd Place: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Per Capita Recycling Category:
- Small campus: Neumann University, Pennsylvania
- 2nd Place: Coe College, Iowa
- Medium campus: Loyola Marymount University, California
- 2nd Place: Wilkes University, Pennsylvania
- Large campus: Boston College, Massachusetts
- 2nd Place: Stanford University, California
GameDay Basketball Category:
- Diversion category: The Ohio State University, Ohio
- Per Capita Recycling category: University of Southern California, California
Race to Zero Waste – One Building Challenge Category:
- Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania
Electronics Recycling Category:
- Per Capita Recycling category: Black Hills State University, South Dakota
- Total Pounds Recycled category: Rutgers University, New Jersey
UR’s Scores
- Diversion Category – Ranked 66 out of 91, with a Waste Diversion Rate of 21.8%
- Per Capita Classic – Ranked 24 out of 107, collecting 15.0 pounds per person
- Organics – Ranked 23 out of 34, collecting 65 total points
Facilities Team Green collaborated with multiple other groups to hold a promotional campaign. Highlights included a kick-off event, a Valentine’s Day photo booth, a Caught Green Handed campaign, and a screening of Love Thy Nature. Check out UR Sustainable on Facebook for lots of fun pictures.
About Campus Race to Zero Waste
Campus Race to Zero Waste – formerly known as RecycleMania – is the nation’s premier waste reduction and recycling competition among colleges and universities, managed by National Wildlife Federation, and governed by RecycleMania, Inc. Campus Race to Zero Waste has been helping campuses minimize waste and improve their recycling efforts, since its launch in 2001.
For more details about our categories and winners, please visit the 2023 Scoreboard.