Last week the extended collegiate football season wrapped up with a one-sided victory by the University of Alabama over Louisiana State University. In the championship game matching two football powerhouses, there was little room for smaller schools to compete for the national championship against the proverbial “big boys”. Unlike the NCAA baskteball tourney – in which even small schools can make it to the “big dance” – schools smaller than Alabama but also with one loss were not able to challenge for the title because of the BCS system. However, there was another competition in college football that concluded last week as well in which several smaller schools came out ahead.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2011 Game Day Challenge winners were announced last week. Here are the victors in the five categories:
- Waste Minimization Champion (Least amount of waste generated per attendee) – Central Connecticut State University
- Diversion Rate Champion (Highest combined recycling and composting rate) – University of California, Davis
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction Champion (Greatest greenhouse gas reductions from diverting waste) – University of Virginia
- Recycling Champion (Highest recycling rate) – University of Virginia
- Organics Reduction Champion (Highest organics reduction rate) – Marist College
According to the EPA’s numbers, 78 schools took part with 500,000 pounds of waste diverted from landfills. In addition, more than 800 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions were prevented. To search for specific schools or see the overall results, click here.
For a point of comparison, a couple of the 2011 winners were repeat champions from the previous year. Marist College defended its organics reduction championship, while the University of California, Davis (my sister’s alma mater) won for having the highest diversion rate. The Game Day Challenge “was sponsored by EPA’s WasteWise program, a voluntary program through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes, benefiting their bottom line and the environment.”
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