Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools has been named the national district winner of Keep America Beautiful’s Recycle-Bowl, according to the school system.

A release says Recycle-Bowl reaches nearly 700,000 students and teachers in 1,266 schools across 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Dan Schnitzer is the Sustainability Coordinator for CHCCS, and he says, “Winning this competition is a testament to the dedication of our teachers, administrators and students to care for their environment, reduce waste and ensure a healthy future.”

The competition was held over four weeks last fall culminating on November 15 – America Recycles Day.

Four million pounds of recyclables were recovered during the 2015 competition. Officials say that prevented the release of more than 5,700 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, and the reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from more than 950 passenger cars.

While CHCCS won the District Division in the national competition, Egg Harbor Community School in New Jersey was crowned the national champion. Egg Harbor recycled 50 pounds of material per student and teacher during the competition.

Egg Harbor City Community School of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, was crowned national champion of Recycle-Bowl, recycling 50 pounds of material per student and teacher during the competition.

Keep America Beautiful president and CEO Jennifer Jehn said in a statement:

“Recycle-Bowl provides teachers with a great opportunity to integrate concepts of sustainability and waste reduction into classroom curricula through experiential learning as well as a way to introduce recycling into a school’s general operations. CHCCS exemplifies the goals and mission of Recycle-Bowl. It’s inspiring to see students across the country becoming so enthusiastic about recycling and conserving our planet’s natural resources.”