Recyclebank® announced it has launched the Green Schools Energy Challenge with Lunera® Lighting, Inc., a Silicon Valley company that designs, manufactures, and markets next-generation LED lighting. The contest is designed to benefit schools nationwide with energy retrofits to help make classroom lighting state-of-the-art green. To enter, teachers and school administrators should submit a video entry showcasing classrooms that already have an ongoing commitment to sustainability by Friday, May 20 at http://www.recyclebank.com/GreenSchoolsEnergyChallenge. Those with the most inventive and active "green rooms" can win the green makeover, valued at up to $5,000 per classroom. This spring, five classrooms will be selected as winners for the Lunera-sponsored LED lighting energy retrofit.

"Through our Green Schools Program, Recyclebank has a long-standing commitment to communities, schools, and students—our environmental leaders of the future," said Jonathan Hsu, CEO at Recyclebank. "We've helped sponsor environmental education projects in more than 65 communities over the last five years. This spring, we're excited to partner with Lunera in the Green Schools Energy Challenge, providing an opportunity for students and teachers to take the next step in creating a more sustainable and improved classroom environment."

Lunera provides LED lighting solutions that are environmentally friendly, reduce energy costs, and provide superior near daylight quality light that can help student productivity and performance. An energy retrofit from Lunera will not only reduce classrooms' environmental footprint, it will provide high quality, near daylight illumination right to a student's desktop, helping to make the classroom a better place to learn.

"We have partnered with Recyclebank to offer classrooms a solid state lighting retrofit to demonstrate the energy efficiencies and improved light quality that LED lighting provides," said Karen Owyeung, CEO at Lunera Lighting. "The cost savings of Lunera's LED lighting systems are impressive, they offer up to 15-years of maintenance-free quality light that can save up to 50 percent of energy costs. Lunera's LED lighting systems provide near-daylight illumination compared to traditional lighting systems for students and teachers alike."

Lunera's award-winning, fully recyclable, LED lighting fixtures feature carefully designed optics, edge-lit design, U.S. manufacturing and quality testing. Lunera uses its truLITE™ Color Consistency Process to ensure color consistency. The lights dramatically reduce energy consumption, while providing voluminous daylight-quality light. The fixtures contain no harmful chemicals and generate less heat than comparable incumbent lighting technologies lowering HVAC costs. Substantial energy savings combined with the elimination of maintenance costs enables Lunera to lower a facility's operating expense while reducing its carbon footprint, visually demonstrating its commitment to sustainability.

To enter, teachers and school administrators can send Recyclebank a video showing how they are creating a greener classroom by Friday, May 20, 2011. Semi-finalists will be announced and public voting will start in early June. Semi-finalists are encouraged to get friends and family to visit Recyclebank.com to vote on their video, and the video with the most votes will be the fan favorite and win an Energy Retrofit by Lunera. There will be a total of five winning classrooms in the spring semester 2011. Winners will be announced in late June, and classroom retrofits will take place over the summer.

For information about the Green Schools Energy Challenge including guidelines, applications, judging, and retrofits of the winning classrooms, visit http://www.recyclebank.com/GreenSchoolsEnergyChallenge.