Mills College Wins National Recyclemania Award

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OAKLAND, CA (05/14/2008)(readMedia)-- Mills College has won first place for recycling food waste in the national RecycleMania competition, recycling more than 34 pounds per person for the ten-week competition.

More than 400 colleges and universities nationwide participated from January 27 to April 5 to determine which institution could recycle the most in categories such as the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, or the highest recycling rate.

Mills College beat out other schools by recycling the most food and compostable waste such as napkins and paper towels per person during the competition.

"Heading into the last week of the competition Mills ranked a close second, so it was thrilling to see us pull through to first place," said Britta Bullard, Mills College Recycling Manager. "RecycleMania provided a great way to motivate the campus, and especially the Dining Services, to compost and do so correctly."

The College is engaged in a comprehensive sustainability program that includes reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. The goal of the recycling program is to turn Mills into a zero-waste campus by eliminating the use of non-recyclable materials and diverting the College's waste into recycling bins and reusable products. The Mills food service venues participate in composting, and campus residents are encouraged to compost on a daily basis.

"The care and concern that Mills students have for the environment is impressive and award winning," said Karen J. Maggio, Mills College Associate Vice President for Campus Planning and Facilities.

RecycleMania is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise Program and the National Recycling Coalition, and is coordinated as a project of the Coalition's College and University Recycling Council. The program helps participating colleges and universities advance their recycling and waste-reduction programs.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review. For more information, visit www.mills.edu.

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