Redmond High School‘s (RHS) independent science research students placed first in the Keep America Beautiful Recycle-Bowl Competition for Washington state.

The competition began in October 2011 and lasted four weeks. It centered on schools competing nationwide to have the highest per-capita pounds of recycling.

In preparation, the Redmond students, Laura Svancarek, Karin Otsuka, Rachel Wong, Katherine Smiley and Kevin Bressler, developed a comprehensive system to optimize school-wide recycling. They did this by strategically placing recycle bins around the school. They also developed a schedule for recycle collection that encouraged widespread participation.

Over the course of the competition, the students gathered 6,497 pounds of recycling, culminating in a rate of 4.5 pounds per student and teacher with a reduction of 22,740 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, ranking them at second place in the nation. The students will receive a $1,000 prize and trophy for their work.

From the start of the competition, through January 2012, 16,952 pounds were recycled at RHS. In combination with a composting system implemented in November, the school has reduced 60,179 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

“At our current rate,” said Svancarek, “it should be easy for us to reach our goal of 100 tons of carbon dioxide by the end of the school year. We’ve gotten a great response to the recycling program and we’ve been getting more participation in the composting system every week.”

In the coming months, the science research students plan to support further greenhouse gas reductions at RHS through the Cool School Challenge and will continue to expand their existing programs.