Wed April 27, 2016
USAgain Announces the Winners of Ninth Annual Earth Day Challenge
Clothing recycler USAgain is pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Earth Month Challenge for schools. Across Illinois, 109 schools participated in the challenge and together collected 65,684 pounds of textiles, which helped prevent 985,260 pounds of carbon emissions and saved 157,641,600 gallons of water. The month-long competition started on March 15th. The top three winners (listed below) won cash prizes of $250, $150 and $100 respectively.
First Place: Pui Tak Christian School, Chicago collected 4,421 lbs
Second Place: Lockport High School, Lockport collected 3,472 lbs
Third place: St. Clare School, O'Fallon collected 3,194 lbs
Earth Month Challenge is USAgain’s annual clothing recycling competition open to all schools in Illinois. At no cost, participants are provided with clothing recycling bin, maintained and serviced by USAgain. At the end of the competition, clothing is weighed and all participants receive a cash prize based on total pounds collected.
“Congratulations to all of the participating schools for their impressive work. It's great to see schools so enthusiastic about the competition, and we hope it has inspired them to be keen recyclers," said USAgain CEO, Mattias Wallander. “Reusing and recycling resources are the best ways to begin building a more sustainable environment.”
A recent EPA study shows the impact of clothing recycling, which averages 15 percent nationwide, is equivalent to taking one million cars off the road for a year. The positive impact would be remarkable if we are able to recycle the remaining 85 percent (11 million tons) of textiles that are currently going into landfills.
USAgain’s mission is to reduce the negative impacts of unwanted clothes and shoes on our environment by providing them a second life. The items in good condition are reused as secondhand clothing and the rest are recycled to manufacture insulation material, wiping rags etc.
To further its commitment to the environment, USAgain plants a tree every time the bin is full and has planted over 600,000 trees so far. By hosting a “Greenraiser” program, USAgain’s year-round fundraiser, schools can help conserve natural resources while earning funds for their programs.