{"id":20293,"date":"2023-05-23T14:21:38","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T14:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=20293"},"modified":"2026-01-18T22:57:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T22:57:31","slug":"macalester-earns-top-marks-for-sustainability-efforts-in-national-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2023\/05\/macalester-earns-top-marks-for-sustainability-efforts-in-national-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Macalester earns top marks for sustainability efforts in national competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Macalester College earned top marks for its sustainability efforts in the National Wildlife Federation\u2019s <\/span>2023 Campus Race to Zero Waste<\/span><\/a> competition. The college ranked #1 among small schools in three categories: Zero Waste, Food Organics, and Diversion. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are really proud of being recognized as one of the top small schools in the competition,\u201d said Megan Butler, the college\u2019s sustainability director who led the campuswide effort.  \u201cIt shows that we’ve invested in the infrastructure to be able to divert our waste. It also reflects that we have a culture in which the people in our community use that infrastructure and are committed to sustainability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester joined more than 200 colleges and universities in 40 states and Canada in<\/span> an eight-week competition challenging campuses to reduce waste and increase recycling at their facilities. The competition takes place in February and March.<\/span> As a result, the participating schools have kept more than 200 million single-use plastic containers out of landfills and prevented the release of 29,108 metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equal to avoiding the annual emissions from 6,128 cars.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe impact these colleges and universities have on reducing their waste footprint is tremendous and almost hard to comprehend. To prevent the release of more than 29,000 metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and more than 200 million single-use plastics out of landfills is staggering and truly something to be proud of,\u201d said Kristy Jones, director of higher education programs at National Wildlife Federation. \u201cThe collective efforts to minimize waste and reduce stress on natural resources is inspiring and creating a better world for wildlife and the environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester came out on top among all participating small schools in three of the competition\u2019s four categories: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n