EPA announces results of 2011 college Game Day waste reduction challenge

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by Brianna Crandall — January 13, 2012—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the winners of the 2011 Game Day Challenge, a competition among U.S. colleges and universities with the goal of lowering waste generated at college football games and increasing participation in and awareness of waste reduction programs across their campuses and in their communities.

As part of the challenge, 78 participating schools across the nation designed a waste reduction plan for one 2011 regular season home football game, measured their results, and submitted them to EPA. The results were measured in the areas of paper (including newspaper), all types of beverage containers, corrugated cardboard, mixed recyclable materials, organics and trash.

The winners of the 2011 Game Day Challenge are:

  • Waste Minimization Champion (Least amount of waste generated per attendee) – Central Connecticut State University
  • Diversion Rate Champion (Highest combined recycling and composting rate) – University of California, Davis
  • Greenhouse Gas Reduction Champion (Greatest greenhouse gas reductions from diverting waste) – University of Virginia
  • Recycling Champion (Highest recycling rate) – University of Virginia
  • Organics Reduction Champion (Highest organics reduction rate) – Marist College

During the fall of 2011, the 78 participating colleges and universities including 2.7 million fans diverted more than 500,000 pounds of waste from football games, preventing nearly 810 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions—reportedly the equivalent of the annual emissions from 159 passenger vehicles. The schools and fans took one step further to green the gridiron and help build awareness around the importance of recycling, reducing, and reusing. The agency says the participating schools and fans are now “ready and equipped with tools and resources to continue to reduce waste across all campus activities and beyond.”

Among the resources available to these schools and others is The Collegiate Football Sustainable Materials Management Toolkit, a product of the leadership and analysis of Virginia Tech students working for Virginia Tech’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, which provides the framework for developing a game day program and a road map for continually improving an existing program.