Stanford’s RecycleMania Video Recognized in Case Study Competition

As Stanford began its ninth year of participation in the annual RecycleMania competition, in which universities and colleges across the nation compete to reduce waste and increase recycling and composting on campus, Office of Sustainability (OOS) sought to establish a fun, fresh way to engage students and staff alike. Realizing the potential of music to connect and inspire individuals, and building upon recent trends in pop culture, OOS engaged students, faculty, and staff to create a parody music video of Meghan Trainor’s “I’m All About That Bass” to convey that at Stanford, we are “All About No Waste.” The video has more than 5,000 hits on YouTube to date, dwarfing the viewership of all other RecycleMania videos, and was amplified to more than 1 million people via social media, including links from prominent national organizations such as Keep America Beautiful. The RecycleMania organization recognized the video as the most creative in its first case study competition. Stanford also increased its RecycleMania standings in all other areas, placing in the top 20 in six different categories. Local syndicated radio show Climate One featured the video on its program discussing zero-waste efforts in the Bay Area.