The College of Charleston is receiving more than 2,000 recycling bins from the Alcoa Foundation Recycling Bin Grant Program. This is enough bins to provide one in each residence hall room and a step toward getting bins in every office on campus.

A partnership between Alcoa Foundation and Keep America Beautiful, the grant will also help the College boost its recycling results during the eight-week RecycleMania Tournament, a friendly competition that aims to change behavior about recycling and raise awareness about waste reduction programs on college campuses. The College of Charleston is one of 35 grant recipients in the U.S.

“Alcoa Foundation has been a true leader in advancing recycling nationwide through its support of its bin grant and other programs,” said Matthew M. McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “Its involvement with RecycleMania and the College and University Recycling Coalition’s webinar series has helped to increase recycling on campuses and instill a recycling ethic that college students will carry with them the rest of their lives.”

During RecycleMania, which concludes on March 31, colleges and universities vie for top awards in nine categories to see 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. In 2012, 605 colleges and universities participated in the challenge, collecting more than 92 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics.

“For the first year, we are participating in the competition division of RecycleMania,” said Jen Jones, facilities coordinator for the Office of Sustainability. “We’re pleased to be in the top two-thirds of the food service organics division – especially since we only have one of our two major dining facilities composting (City Bistro). We hope to expand to the Liberty Street Fresh Food Company soon.”

For more information, contact Jen Jones at jejones2@cofc.edu.