Cadets win nationwide collegiate recycling challenge

By Maureen Welch, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs / Published March 17, 2017.

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. —

The Cadet Wing’s top officer presented Air Force Academy cadets with a $3,000 check March 16th for winning the 2016 Great American Can Roundup Recycling Challenge.

Col. John Price, commander-commandant of the Cadet Wing, gave the check to Cadet 1st Class Madison Martin on the staff tower during the cadet’s lunch hour.

“Our passion to be resourceful and our competitiveness with our sister-service academies led us to have the most successful recycling drive yet,” Martin said.

Academy cadets beat-out the other U.S. service academies by recycling more than 3,500 pounds of aluminum cans.

Cadet Squadron 23 received a check for $500 for out-performing the Cadet Wing’s other 39 squadrons by recycling nearly 1,000 pounds of aluminum cans.

The $3,500 was awarded to the Academy by the competition’s sponsor, the Can Manufacturers Institute, and is slated to fund cadet squadron improvement projects.

The challenge fosters environmental stewardship among U.S. colleges and the service academies, said Robert Budway, the CMI’s president.

Budway said the service academies recycled almost 10,000 pounds of aluminum beverage cans in 10 weeks.