Thursday, November 8, 2012
Written by: George McCrory

By recycling their cans, paper and plastic this Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, Hawkeye fans can help the University of Iowa score big in the Gameday Challenge, a national competition for colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at their football games.

The Iowa Recycling Team, comprised of UI Athletics, Facilities Management, the Office of Sustainability, Waste Management, ARAMARK, the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and the ECO Hawk student organization, wants to recycle 60 percent or more of the waste generated at the Iowa vs. Purdue game.

Rachel Price shows cans and bottles collected for recycling at Gate I outside Kinnick Stadium
UI student Rachel Price shows cans and bottles collected for recycling at Gate I outside Kinnick Stadium. Photo by George McCrory.

Fans can do their part by recycling plastic bottles, cans, plastic souvenir cups, paper cups, coffee cup holders and lids, popcorn buckets, cardboard, and paper. These items can be put in green and gold Waste Management recycling containers at the gates and concourse areas. Coca-Cola bottle-shaped bins are also available for recycling in the concourse. Items not accepted include bags, glass, food or food-covered containers.

Following the game, students from UI environmental science classes and sustainability groups will conduct waste audit of trash at Kinnick’s concourse area. The waste sort will determine what fans are recycling and not recycling at Kinnick and give UI officials data to improve the recycling system.

The game day recycling and waste sort results will be announced Thursday, Nov. 15 on America Recycles Day. The results will be submitted to the Gameday Challenge, which will rank UI among 76 participating colleges and universities at the end of season.

Also included the Gameday Challenge totals is food and kitchen waste from the concession stands and Press Box areas. During the post-game cleanup on Sundays, the recycling team helps local high school students to sort recyclable materials at the stadium. Waste Management then hauls the materials to a City Carton recycling facility.

Through the first five home games, the Iowa Recycling Team's high score was 57 percent diversion at the Iowa vs. Northern Iowa game Sept. 15. Last season for Gameday Challenge, approximately 25 percent of the waste generated was recycled at the Iowa vs. Michigan game Nov. 5.

This recycling program is part of the UI’s 2020 Vision sustainability goals to diverting 60 percent of waste from the landfill.

For more information about the game day recycling program, see sustainability.uiowa.edu/gameday-recycling-program.