Blog Post

The Berkshire Eagle recently reported on Berkshire Community College (BCC) successfully defending its statewide title in the diversion category of the RecycleMania competition managed by Keep America Beautiful. RecycleMania is a friendly competition among colleges and universities that engages students to promote recycling and waste reduction activities across campus.

In 2018, teams from 300 higher education institutions across the United States and Canada participated in RecycleMania, benchmarking their recycling and waste reduction efforts against each other over an eight-week period. To track progress, participating schools conducted waste audits and reported the weight of materials sent for recycling or composting to estimate the schoolā€™s per-capita diversion rate.

BCC achieved a diversion rate of 80.9 percent this year, earning third place in the RecycleMania competition and finishing first in Massachusetts for the third year in a row. BCC has been participating in the competition since 2009, and has increased its overall waste diversion rate by 43 percent in that time. BCC established a goal of producing zero waste by 2020, which includes the development of campus activities, practices, and policies that reduce the amount of waste through reuse, recycling, and composting.

Berkshire Community Collegeā€™s Green Team oversees the Collegeā€™s participation in RecycleMania. The Green Team is composed of students, faculty, staff, and community members. Specifically, the Green Team has facilitated changes such as switching to compostable dining ware and purchasing additional recycling containers to serve the entire campus.

RecyclingWorksĀ provides technical assistance for Massachusetts colleges & universities on recycling and food waste diversion. RecyclingWorks also hosts regular College & University Forums for higher education professionals to discuss waste reduction topics. To speak to a recycling and food waste diversion expert, call our hotline:Ā (888) 254-5525Ā or email us atĀ info@recyclingworksma.com.