USC Wins In National Wildlife Federation’s 2022 Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition
USC has captured national honors as the winner of the GameDay Basketball Diversion category in the 2022 Campus Race to Zero Waste Competition. At the Trojans' men's basketball game vs. the California Golden Bears on Jan. 29 at Galen Center, USC achieved a 91.8 percent waste diversion rate to lead all other participants across the nation.
"USC is known for producing champions, and this latest win is a fantastic achievement for the entire university," USC Chief Sustainability Officer Mick Dalrymple said. "The Campus Race to Zero Waste competition is an excellent opportunity for USC to continue its progress toward the university's Assignment: Earth goal of achieving zero waste by 2028. Diverting more than 90 percent of waste is a goal we as an institution strive to reach, and the example set by USC Athletics, Athletics Director Mike Bohn and the Galen Center earlier this year is one to emulate."
USC joined more than 3.6 million college students and staff across the country in a competition to reduce the campus waste footprint through minimization efforts by donating, composting and recycling more than 27.9 million pounds of waste. As a result, collectively, these effort have kept more than 200 million single-use plastic containers out of landfills and prevented the release of 30,288 metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equal to avoiding the annual emissions from 6,376 cars.
"Working alongside RecycleMania Inc. to engage and educate millions of students, staff and faculty in the U.S. has had an undeniable impact on the environment, wildlife and surrounding ecosystems. This competition demonstrates the monumental difference we can make if we come together to reduce our waste," said Kim Martinez, vice president of education and engagement programs at the National Wildlife Federation. "We look forward to building this program's decades long impact with our college and university partners."
"Annually the Campus Race to Zero Waste competition provides key tools and opportunities that inspire, empower and mobilize colleges and universities to improve their efforts to reduce and eliminate waste," says Stacy Wheeler, president and co-founder of the competition. "Congratulations to all participating campuses. Your efforts are significant and noteworthy. Your competition engagements on campus not only provide environmental and economic benefits, but are inherent of creating good global citizens of where we work, learn and live."
About Campus Race to Zero Waste
Campus Race to Zero Waste – formerly known as RecycleMania – is the nation's premier waste reduction and recycling competition among colleges and universities, managed by National Wildlife Federation, and governed by RecycleMania, Inc. Campus Race to Zero Waste has been helping campuses minimize waste and improve their recycling efforts, since its launch in 2001.