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About Game Day Recycling
Football games bring thousands of fans onto campus and generate tons of trash. Georgia Tech's Game Day Recycling program is making the games more green by diverting plastic, aluminum and glass from the landfill during home football games and tailgates. Launched in 2008, Game Day Recycling makes it convenient for fans to recycle, whether they are tailgating, walking through the campus, or inside the Stadium watching the game. During the 2011 season, the program netted 24.1 tons of recyclables.
Thanks to our sponsor, Waste Management, for helping to make the Game Day Recyling program's fourth season a success!
How to Participate
The success of the Game Day Recycling program hinges on the active participation of everyone attending home football games. If you are tailgating before the game, simply place your recyclables in blue recycling bags (given out free by volunteers). Leave the bags on the ground and they will be picked up by GT Facilities. Also, make sure to use the green and white recycling bins that are set up in and around Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Photographers circulate throughout the tailgating areas at each home game to capture pictures of fans who are recycling and taking other steps to lessen the environmental impact of their tailgate. The images are shown on the JumboTron during the game. Use the GT Green Tailgating Guide for inspiration and get noticed!
Game Day Recycling Results
The graph below shows the weight of materials diverted from the landfill during each of Georgia Tech's home football games and tailgates since the Game Day Recycling program began in 2008. A total of 24.1 tons were diverted in 2011, which is a 15% increase from the 2010 season.
EPA Game Day Challenge
During Homecoming 2011, Georgia Tech participated in the US EPA Game Day Recycling Challenge - competing against more than 70 other schools, including UGA, in five categories:
- Waste Generation: The school with the lowest per capita waste generation wins.
- Diversion Rate: The school with the largest overall (combines trash, recycling, and composting data) recycling rate wins.
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction: The school with the largest greenhouse gas reduction wins.
- Recycling: The school with the largest recycling rate wins.
- Organics Reduction:The school with the largest organic reduction rate wins.
You can view the results of the competition on the EPA's website.
Volunteers
It takes many people to get the message out about recycling to all of the fans on game day, and the Game Day Recycling committee could not complete the project without the help of volunteers. During the 2011 season, more than 300 students volunteered their time to help make Game Day Recycling a success. Volunteers distribute recycling bags to tailgaters and greet fans at the Stadium gates. The typical commitment is about one hour on game day, and all volunteers are finished in time for kickoff.