Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to help UCF recycle more than any other Florida school in a “friendly” 10-week competition.

About 600 colleges and universities are participating in RecycleMania, which began Jan. 17 and ends March 27. The competition includes many Florida universities and community colleges, including Valencia in Orlando.

RecycleMania is sponsored by the College and University Recycling Council, a council of the National Recycling Coalition. Competing schools report their recycling and trash data by weight each week. These data are ranked according to which university collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita and the highest recycling rate.

Participating schools can see their recycling data online and watch the numbers fluctuate against other schools to rally fellow students to reduce and recycle more.

“If everyone at UCF recycled just one aluminum can, that’s 60,000 cans,” said Brian Wormwood, of Facilities Operations, who oversees recycling operations at UCF.

RecycleMania also collects data on material type. For week five, UCF ranks third among all Florida colleges and universities in corrugated cardboard recycled (measured in pounds per person).

Recyclable materials collected at UCF include paper, cardboard, aluminum cans and plastics, such as beverage bottles.

Recycling is easy at UCF, according to Wormwood. On campus, all buildings have Clear Stream containers with clear plastic bags located in each of the academic buildings as well as black recycling toters with the UCF Recycles logo on them, located near or at most loading dock areas.

Students living on campus also can help UCF increase its recycling rate. Recyclable materials are picked up daily at residence halls, and students can place their recyclables in available black recycling toters or in clear bags next to the sides of any waste dumpster or compactor.

To view UCF’s numbers by week, click here, then click “participating schools” and choose Florida.