Bradley LeFebvre a semifinalist in Fairleigh Dickinson University innovation contest

2014 Apr 18

Montville Township High School Junior, Bradley LeFebvre, of Parsippany, NJ, has been recognized as a semifinalist in Fairleigh Dickinson University's Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurship's 2014 New Jersey Idea Competition.

LeFebvre's idea was Landfill Mining & Reclamation / Recycling System.

In LeFebvre's own words: Landfills are abundant in our society today, and there are more than 1,900 dispersed throughout our country. As these landfills continue to grow with the addition of more and more waste, new locations are going to have to be converted to landfills to accommodate the flow of trash. However, these landfills hold a great, untapped potential. Materials that compose landfills include paper, biodegradable wastes, plastics, glass, and metals. The valuable and recyclable materials such as plastics, glasses, and metals that lie within these landfills can be reclaimed and reused, decreasing the size of the landfills and making room for the rest of the waste that needs to be disposed of. Especially in older landfills before any real recycling had taken hold, any biodegradable materials will already have broken down, leaving only the valuable metals and recyclables behind such as copper and steel, which will be mined, separated, and sold to those looking to recycle it. This reclamation will reduce the need for strip mining throughout the world and will decrease the pollution released from both mining operations and from oversized landfills.

The contest is an annual competition designed to help foster an entrepreneurial mindset among all New Jersey high school students. Divided into Northern, Central, and Southern regions, more than 800 students across the state submitted more than 520 ideas this year. Each region had a winner (Northern had two), four finalists, and eight semifinalists.

Part of FDU's Silberman College of Business since 1989, the mission of the Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurship is to teach and support entrepreneurship and innovation in the academic, business and nonprofit communities. An outstanding entrepreneurship curriculum taught by an excellent faculty has helped make the academic program among the top 20 in the nation (as ranked by the Princeton Review). For more information, go to www.fdu.edu/rothman.