Students of the Skagit Valley College campus in Clinton are taking part in a national competition to support a greener future, according to a recent press release.

Skagit Valley College is one of 392 schools, including 4.5 million students and 1.1 million faculty and staff members, participating throughout the United States and Canada.

Schools face off to determine which produce the least amount of waste, recycle the largest percentage of their overall waste, or recycle the most per capita.

Skagit Valley College is competing in the “benchmark” division, according to the release. This division focuses upon building awareness of the importance of recycling through the use of social media and enjoyable activities.

One such activity will be conducted by the college’s Sustainability Committee and the Associated Students of Skagit Valley College who will distribute buttons to students caught “green handed,” recycling materials in one of the bins.

On March 5, Skagit Valley College will conduct its first garbage audit from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at the Tollefson Plaza of the Mount Vernon campus. A representative of Waste Management will be present while students and staff sift through the day’s garbage to find any items that could have been recycled, according to the release.

The college will also be tracking its weekly recycling volume.

“RecycleMania is about more than a nation-wide competition. It is a time when we strive to engage the campus community in awareness and action to reduce waste,” said James Walters, chairman of the Skagit Valley College Sustainability Committee, according to the release. “We just want to have a bit of fun bringing more attention to recycling and how each of us can do our part in reducing waste.”

The release states that last year, 86 million pounds of recyclables were recovered. This prevented greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 24,846 cars from the roads for one year, according to the release.

“RecycleMania provides a way for students to get involved and make a difference in their campus communities,” said Keep America Beautiful Senior Vice President Brenda Pulley, according to the press release.

The tournament runs through March 20.

For more information, contact Walters at james.walters@skagit.edu or visit www.skagit.edu/sustainability.