Western Michigan University and eight other state schools are taking part in the national environmental competition RecycleMania 2010.

The 10-week contest runs through March 27 and aims to draw attention to and raise participation in campus waste reduction and recycling efforts.

Nationwide, 350 colleges and universities are participating in this year's RecycleMania. The event started in 2001 as a competition between Miami and Ohio universities in improving recycling in their dorms and cafeterias.

Other Michigan participants are Albion, Aquinas, Kalamazoo and Washtenaw Community colleges; Central Michigan, Grand Valley State and Saginaw Valley State universities; and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.