The College of St. Benedict collected three times what was expected in a recycling challenge from Conservation Minnesota.
The college was challenged last month to collect 10,000 recyclable cans and bottles in one week, and Conservation Minnesota would pay $1,000, the maximum award for the effort. CSB collected 30,000 containers.
The challenge was put forth to draw attention to a recent push at the state Legislature to institute a bottle deposit on all cans and bottles sold in Minnesota. While Minnesota has a recycling rate of 35 percent for cans and bottles, states with bottle deposits routinely recycle at a rate of more than 90 percent.