Ohio State Loses Blue, Gains Green – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Michigan-week clothing drive and year-long recycling programs maintained high standards in 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Much like the Ohio State football team’s run to its fifth Big Ten title in the last five seasons, two community and environmental programs also completed the 2009 campaign on an upward tick.
Lose the Blue
During the week leading up to the 2009 Ohio State-Michigan game in Ann Arbor, the Ohio State Department of Athletics and Trademark and Licensing Department held the third-annual “Lose the Blue” clothing drive, benefitting Goodwill Columbus.
At the Official Ohio State Team Shop at the Schottenstein Center and several additional retail outlets throughout Central Ohio, fans were encouraged to donate gently used items of blue clothing. In return, fans received a free Ohio State themed T-shirt and additional sale incentives depending on the store.
By week’s end, Lose the Blue had collected approximately 4,000 pounds of donated clothes, upping the three-year total to more than 18,000 pounds since its inception in 2007.
Scarlet, Gray and Green
Also rounding out its third year in 2009 was the Scarlet, Gray and Green sustainability program. SG&G is a collaborative recycling effort between the Ohio State Department of Athletics and Office of Business and Finance. The initiative helps offset the amount of trash generated both in the stadium and at the tailgating lots at Buckeye football home games.
For 2009, the program set a three-year high with 31.84 tons of recyclables collected in the tailgate lots. At each home game, tailgaters received white plastic recycling bags to encourage collection of bottles, cans, paper and cardboard. Fans then had the ability to deposit the bags into scarlet recycling dumpsters located in tailgate lots on campus.
The tailgate figure was just a shade more than the 31.66 tons gathered inside Ohio Stadium for 2009. Overall, the 63.5 tons processed this season moved the three-year total to just shy of 215 tons.
In the final home date vs. Iowa, SG&G collected 3.47 and 2.28 tons of recyclables inside and outside the Horseshoe, respectively.
SG&G – Additional Info
Recycling is just one element of the University’s Scarlet, Gray & Green sustainability program. In fall 2009, a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will be used to purchase recycling containers for all classroom areas. Additional efforts include:
- Campus bio-diesel conversion
- Green office supplies
- Energy-saving lights
- Green Building Design Construction
- Building energy audits
- Implementation of energy conservation projects
