Pilot aims to zero out fans' waste from home football games
October 24, 2014
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Pictured are students from Engineers for a Sustainable World, a student organization that is working with the Office of Sustainability to educate fans in the south end zone about the ongoing zero-waste pilot program. In November, members of the student organization also will help audit the waste collected from the south end zone as part of efforts to track how much refuse is diverted from landfills. (Photo provided) |
Soon, Boilermaker football fans may be able to cheer on the team at Ross-Ade Stadium while sending only minimal waste into local landfills -- or none at all.
That's the ambitious goal of Zero Waste South End Zone, a pilot program launched this football season.
The result of collaboration between the Office of University Sustainability and a slew of on- and off-campus partners, the pilot program has involved replacing food service items available in the south end zone with compostable products, including cups, wrappers and cutlery. Further, the program has placed compost signage on waste bins, and student volunteers have been connecting with fans in the area to tell them about the program and its goals.
The idea, says Michael Gulich, director of sustainability, is to compost or recycle all waste generated in the south end zone.
"The goal of the initiative also involves achieving a better understanding of the challenges and complexities of getting to zero waste at an event as large as a home football game," Gulich says.
"Thus far, achieving zero waste seems feasible, but there are logistical issues to which we need to develop better solutions if we're going to continue or expand this pilot program in the stadium."
The Environmental Protection Agency defines a zero-waste event as one in which more than 90 percent of refuse is diverted from landfills, meaning that it's either recycled or composted.
During the program, any waste that's not compostable or recyclable is tracked, so the program's organizers will know exactly how much refuse from the south end zone has headed to the landfill this season.
Specifically, after each game, staff members from the Office of University Sustainability cut open the end zone's compost bags, remove non-compostable items and document them with a digital scale or photographs.
Further, members of Engineers for a Sustainable World, a student organization, are engaging fans in the south end zone, Gulich said, both in an effort to earn their cooperation and to inform them of the vast environmental benefits of eliminating the waste sent to landfills after football games.
Other partners involved in the pilot are NatureWorks, a Nebraska company that produces sustainable materials, Eco-Products, a Colorado company that provides the compostable food service items; Heritage Bag Co., a Texas company that manufactures trash-can liners; and Levy Restaurants, which operates the stadium's food service.
The pilot program is a natural extension of the efforts of the Black & Gold & Green Tailgate team, which involves student volunteers handing out recycling bags to tailgaters at Ross-Ade Stadium. Created in 2012, the team aims to divert from landfills 50 percent of waste generated during tailgating.
Morgan Burke, director of intercollegiate athletics, is optimistic that Purdue's green efforts eventually will make it a leader in hosting zero-waste home football games.
"This pilot program was a natural step for our game-day recycling efforts, which started years ago," Burke says.
"Our student volunteers have been doing a great job educating our fans about composting, and the receptivity and interest level has been excellent. We hope the program can achieve marked success now and in the years to come."
Writer: Amanda Hamon Kunz, 49-61325, ahamon@purdue.edu
