The University of Oregon reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability yet again with a victory in the 2014 RecycleMania Civil War.

The eight-week competition between the UO and Oregon State saw each school monitor its weekly results of recycling and compost data with the help of UO’s Zero Waste Program and OSU’s Campus Recycling Program.

The UO recycled and composted a total of 332,235 pounds (166 tons) compared to OSU’s data of 283,249 pounds (141 tons). In total, the RecycleMania Civil War competition encouraged recycling for all participants, generating a total of 615,484 pounds (307.7 tons) in the combined effort.

Data was generated from the collection and recycling of paper, bottles, cans, commingled material, cardboard and compost. Results were generated each week by dividing the total recycled and composted material by the total number of faculty, students and staff at each school – a pound per capita calculation.

The University of Oregon finished with an average of 11.91 pounds of recycled material per person over the eight-week period, while Oregon State ended the competition with 11.1 pounds per capita.

RecycleMania began in 2001 in Ohio and is supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise program. This year, 461 colleges and universities participated in the recycling competition, with representation from all 50 states.

The University of Oregon first participated in 2003, and the Civil War competition between UO and OSU was established in 2010 to promote competition between the two universities.

-by Sarah MacKenzie, Public Affairs Communications intern