Dmitry Liapitch of Philadelphia Helps Lead Wells College to Top Standings in Environmental Competition

AURORA , NY (04/01/2010)(readMedia)-- At the close of the competition, and with a little over a week left to complete calculations, Wells College appears near the top of several categories in the nationwide RecycleMania competition. The competition pits colleges and universities against one another in friendly rivalry over their environmental efforts. Philadelphia native Dmitry Liapitch has helped lead Wells College in this success.

Although the active part of the competition closed on March 27, students have until April 7 to finish the calculations that determine which schools recycle the most on a per capita basis, produce the least amount of waste, and recycle the largest percentage of their overall waste. Final results will be announced on April 16.

In total, 607 colleges and universities registered for the 10-week collegiate challenge, competing against one another in eight categories. With figures still to submit, Wells ranks fifth in participating colleges for corrugated cardboard recycling. Wells also appears in the top 25 in three other categories, including the Grand Champion category. As of this writing, Wells is in 11th place out of 266 schools participating in the Grand Champion division with a recycling rate of 54%.

Five Wells students have used this competition for academic credit. Seniors Payton Barrientos (Houston, Texas) and Dmitry Liapitch (Philadelphia, Pa.), juniors Caitlin Titus (Rochester, N.Y.) and Evan Williamson (Germantown, N.Y.), and sophomore Tomas Bowling (Byfield, Mass.) have all spent a great amount of time promoting the competition and collecting and entering data. While the Wells "RecycleManiacs" are thrilled with their competition placement, the team stresses that winning isn't the most important thing-rather, it's raised awareness about the cumulative effects of our consumption. To that end, one of senior Dmitry Liapitch's contributions to the competition has been to build a boat made entirely of recycled bottles, which he has collected in his dorm room since the beginning of the year. Liapitch plans the boat's maiden voyage across Cayuga Lake for 1:00pm on Saturday April 24, after the competition's winners have been announced.

Liapitch says he is constructing a boat out of recycled plastic bottles to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and to demonstrate the sheer amount of recyclable waste that we produce. "This semester alone, we recycled enough plastic bottles to build a boat," explains Liapitch. "And that is just the plastic. Imagine all of the cardboard, paper, glass, and aluminum cans we also recycled. Think about all the other things those materials can be used for, too. After all, that is exactly what happens when we recycle: our waste products are converted into new products that we can reuse."

According to the RecycleMania Steering Committee, the 510 colleges and universities that participated in the 2009 competition collected over 69.4 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics. By their calculations, this prevented the release of 88,739 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E) into the atmosphere.

More information can be found at www.recyclemaniacs.org

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RecycleMania began in 2001 as a challenge between Miami University of Ohio and Ohio University. Today, it is independently owned and governed by the RecycleMania Steering Committee, which is made up of recycling managers from five participating universities. The 2010 RecycleMania competition is administered by national nonprofit KAB in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program. The competition is made possible with the sponsorship support of The Coca-Cola Company, KAB and the American Forest & Paper Association.

Wells College is a nationally recognized private liberal arts college located on the shores of beautiful Cayuga Lake. Founded in 1868 and coeducational since 2005, Wells provides an academically rigorous and relationship-based educational experience strengthened by the College's small size, residential atmosphere, and dedication to experiential learning. The mission of Wells College is to teach students to think critically, reason wisely, and act humanely as they cultivate meaningful lives.

www.wells.edu

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