Each year three universities in Evansville enter the RecycleMania competition for the bragging rights of being the best recyclers in the city.

More than 500 schools nationwide participate in RecycleMania, an annual national competition to “promote waste reduction on college campuses.”

The competition began in early February and ends Saturday.  

Last year, the three schools combined salvaged more than 86,000 pounds of material from the area.

“This is the second year that the university as a whole has participated,” Greg Wagoner said.

Wagoner, the assistant director of residence facilities and operations, is also in charge of logistics for the competition.

He has enrolled the university in the competition for the past 12 years, he said.

“I set up our account and make sure the university is registered,” Wagoner said.

Last year, USI placed 212th at the national level, with UE following at 248th and Ivy Tech at 272nd, he said.

With the single stream recycling debuted in Evansville, there is less of a chore associated with recycling.

“Any recyclable material put in recycling is taken and separated somewhere down the line,” Nick Mathis said.

Mathis, SGA chair of the Sustainability Project, said he is eager to find out the results of the competition.

“It’s a fun way to promote sustainability for campus members,” he said.

Even though USI beat UE and Ivy Tech last year, both are strong competitors, he said.

RecycleMania is sponsored by The Alcoa Foundation and Alcoa Warrick Operations, the leaders in sustainability in southern Indiana.

Freshman elementary education major Chris Broughton said he thinks recycling is pretty important.

“It’s just as easy as taking your trash out,” he said. “I think everyone should recycle. It’s not that hard.”

USI should always beat UE in everything, and Ivy Tech doesn’t have as many students as USI, he said.

“There’s no excuse for us not to win,” Broughton said.