One of the original two participating schools in the first RecycleMania contest in 2001, Miami is now competing with nearly 400 universities nationwide to see which school can recycle the most.

The goals of the 10-week competition include increasing recycling participation by students and staff and reducing waste generated on campus. Residence halls and dining facilities tend to produce 30 to 70 percent of campus trash, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise office, and up to half of all residence hall trash is recyclable.

The 2008 RecycleMania competition began Jan. 27, along with Miami's own residence hall competition, and ends April 5.

Participation in RecycleMania has almost doubled every year: this year 383 schools are participating, up from 201 in 2007. Since 2002, Miami has won the contest twice and placed third once. Last year Miami placed fourth, recycling 74.76 cumulative pounds per on-campus student in the "Per Capita Classic" contest, just under Kalamazoo College's third-place win with 75.06 pounds per student.

According to the U.S. EPA WasteWise office, the 201 participating RecycleMania schools last year recycled more than 41.3 million pounds of material during the contest.

Miami's recycling program annually diverts 50 percent of its waste stream, saving disposal fees and landfill space.

Miami will compete in the Stephen K. Gaski Per Capita Classic, the traditional competition to see which school can collect the most combined recyclables per person. The Per Capita Classic was renamed this year in honor of Stephen Gaski, an early supporter of RecycleMania and director of Miami's building and special services. Gaski died in 2005.

RecycleMania is supported by the U.S. EPA's WasteWise program and the National Recycling Coalition. It is coordinated as a project of the College and University Recycling Council and is sponsored in part by the Coca-Cola Co.