Planet Aid and the Recycle Bowl ask: What is the easiest and most effective method of protecting and preserving natural resources, conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions? The answer: Recycling. And, recycling creates jobs and stimulates our economy.
The Recycle Bowl is a competition for elementary, middle and high schools across America. Sponsored by Nestle Waters and operated by Keep America Beautiful, the competition has three objectives - to establish new recycling programs within schools, to increase recycling rates in schools that currently recycle, and to provide teacher/student educational opportunities about recycling and waste reduction. Recycle Bowl has two divisions, the Competition Division and the Open Division (the latter is less formal and accommodates schools that register late, don't want to compete for a prize or are located in a U.S. territory, Canada or Mexico). Schools may choose to register for either, based on eligibility requirements and the school's ability to meet division standards. Public, private and charter schools are eligible.
The rules and regulations are fairly simple and winners are selected by Keep America Beautiful. The winner from each state (and Washington, DC) receives $1,000. A national champion will be chosen from the top state winners and will receive an additional prize. The national winning school receives additional winnings to purchase recycling bins for their school.
This is a great opportunity to start motivating recyclers of the future. Natural resources need to be preserved and the Recycle Bowl is a great way for students to adopt sustainable behaviors. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 120,500 tons of garbage is recycled each day in the U.S. Considering how much trash Americans generate (243 million tons), imagine the combined effect of all schools across the U.S. recycling!? The Recycle Bowl is a great way for any school to support and improve its recycling efforts, but is also a great way to get communities involved, too. Official competition began last week and goes through November 9. Data will be reported and verified in December and January, and a winner will be announced in March 2013.