Alcoa Foundation Grant Will Boost DePauw's Recycling Efforts

March 7, 2013

Alcoa Foundation is partnering with national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and the College & University Recycling Coalition to provide 75 recycling bins to DePauw University as part of the Alcoa Foundation Recycling Bin Grant Program. DePauw is one of 35 colleges and universities to receive support through the grant.

The Alcoa Foundation Recycling Bin Grant Program is an effort to help schools boost their recycling results during the eight-week RecycleMania Tournament, and expand their recycling efforts throughout the year. RecycleMania is a friendly competition that aims to change behavior about recycling and raise awareness about waste reduction programs on college campuses.

The bins will be used in different on-campus settings to enhance DePauw’s ongoing efforts to divert recyclables from the waste stream. The Keep America Beautiful partnership further reinforces Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation’s commitment to increasing recycling across America.

 “These bins are a welcome and significant addition to our recycling efforts, adding to the ones we already have,” notes Carol Steele, director of sustainability and associate dean of academic affairs at DePauw. “They also come at a time when we are thinking about current and future recycling so that we send less and less to landfills.”

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.

“Alcoa Foundation has been a true leader in advancing recycling nationwide through its support of its bin grant and other programs,” says 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.”

Learn more about DePauw's sustainability efforts here.

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