Banner Year for Buckeye Game Day Recycling – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Ohio State Places First in Football Recycling Competition, Breaks Own Record
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State University placed first in the USEPA Game Day Challenge (NCAA – Division I – FBS) for diverting 68.5% of its football waste from the landfill at the Ohio State – Purdue game on October 23, 2010. Over 75 colleges and universities participated in this challenge. Additional competition categories include per capita waste generation, per capita greenhouse gas reduction, per capita recycling, and per capita organics reduction.
Ohio State’s performance put the university in the top tier for NCAA football stadium recycling. The only school that diverted more waste was the University of California – Davis (Division I – FCS), a “zero-waste” stadium (9,000 capacity). The Buckeyes also placed 10th in recycling per capita (per attendee) with .317 lbs per person. Ohio State placed first in every category when compared to other stadiums with capacity of 100,000 or more.
Ohio State recycled 75.5% (9 tons) of the waste from Ohio Stadium and nearly 62% (16.8 tons) from the tailgate lots during the Purdue game. The Purdue performance was consistent with the record setting recycling season for the Buckeyes. For the 2010 season, Ohio State diverted 46.4% (51.7 tons) of the waste from the stadium, 58.3% (77.2 tons) from the tailgate lots which is 52.8% overall. The tailgate lots doubled their recycling performance from last season, setting a new season record. Compared to last season, trash is down 27% and recycling is up by nearly 93%.
“Over the years we have been able to work with our partners to reduce waste, refine the collection process, perfect sorting, and educate the Best Fans in the Land to ensure we are reducing football’s environmental impact.” said, Don Patko, Associate Director of Facilities, Department of Athletics.
“Many campuses have struggled to unite the Athletics, Sustainability, Solid Waste, and Grounds Departments – Ohio State has set the standard for how these departments can work together.” said, Corey Hawkey, Sustainability Coordinator, Facilities Operations and Development and coordinator of the football recycling program.
For more information about Ohio State recycling visit: http://recycle.osu.edu or recycle@osu.edu. For more information about the USEPA Game Day Challenge: http://www.epa.gov/osw/partnerships/wastewise/challenge/gameday/results.htm
