The national America Recycles Day observation, held on Nov. 15 each year, is adding a new “Recycle-Bowl Competition” for children in kindergarten through 12th grade across the country in 2011.

This contest is open to both public and private schools. Schools can compete for a $1,000 state prize and a $2,500 national prize. Individual classrooms can also participate in the competition but are not eligible for prizes.

Schools wishing to participate can register on http://recycle-bowl.org/ by Oct. 10. From Oct. 12 to Nov. 12, school appointees track the amount of recycling collected during that month period. Online tools make it possible for the appointees to track the volume of recycling collected in a school’s recycling dumpster or recycling cart before each pick-up and convert volumes into a standardized weight.

Many local schools and classrooms are already leaders in recycling efforts. In Ann Arbor, all schools have access to the city’s single-stream recycling collection service.

Recycling efforts have helped 20 Ann Arbor schools achieve certification from Michigan’s “Green Schools” program. The City and Ann Arbor Public Schools currently track recycling efforts and noted that last fall, AAPS captured more than 160,000 pounds of recyclables.

The 15th annual America Recycles Day (ARD) is currently hosted by the Keep America Beautiful organization. The City of Ann Arbor is celebrating America Recycles Day on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon with a recycling plant open house and recycled birdfeeder activity at the city’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), 4150 Platt Road.

For more information on the city’s free MRF open houses and tours, consult www.a2gov.org/mrf or phone 734-794-6000 ext. 43118.

Nancy Stone is the Communications Liaison for Public Services at the City of Ann Arbor. She can be reached at nstone@a2gov.org. Visit www.a2gov.org for more information on local environmental topics including recycling, composting, water conservation, and choices for green living.

Your World provides local environmental information to our community. Contributing partners include: Washtenaw County’s Environmental Health Division; the nonprofit Recycle Ann Arbor; the City of Ann Arbor’s Public Services Area, Natural Area Preservation, Systems Planning programs for Energy, Environmental Coordination, Solid Waste, Transportation, and Water Resources.