Auburn University is taking part of the Game Day Recycling Challenge, where on game days Auburn competes with approximately 100 universities nationwide to have the highest recycling rate.
The competing schools track the quantity of waste and recycling produced and the two national winners are recognized by the total amount recycled, composted and donated or by the diversion rate, which is the percentage of waste diverted from disposal.
“Recycling is a wonderful program for our environment,” Vic Walker, manager of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Department, said. “First of all, it is the thing that keeps us sustainable. It diverts things from landfill and instead of putting things into toxic areas we can actually put those things back to good use. Especially things like plastic, aluminum, cardboard and paper.
According to Walker, recycling keeps things like strip mining and killing animals from happening, which is vital for achieving the big picture that recycling is good for environment, saves energy and saves money.
To ensure recycling the Department of Sustainability sets out over 300 additional recycling bins inside and around Jordan-Hare Stadium and across campus for fans to recycle their plastic and aluminum cans, they also have student volunteers walk designated areas to pass out free recycling bags to tailgaters.
“We strive to make recycling accessible and convenient,” Joan Hicken, coordinator in the Waste Reduction and Recycling Department, said. “We want to encourage students, staff, faculty and visitors to incorporate recycling into their daily routines on campus.”
At every home game, Auburn has the ‘Get Caught Recycling’ program, where one winner is caught and rewarded with a football signed by Gus Malzahn and receives recognition of the video board.
Maverick Pierce, a freshman at Auburn University, was the ‘Get Caught Recycling’ winner of last week’s homecoming game, the Green Game.
Pierce said that his favorite part of winning was being able to see a picture of he and his friends on the video board and that he will continue to recycle and spread awareness.
“It was a pretty cool experience receiving a signed football and seeing yourself 50 feet tall in front of all those people,” Pierce said.
Hicken said that this year they added the ‘Recycler of the Game’ which rewards a caught recycler with recognition on the video board and a $100 VISA Gift Card that was donated by Coca-Cola.
“Every game is a Green Day for our department and the university,” Hicken said. “We offer recycling to the fans every game. The Green Game and Game Day Challenge are just ways for us to highlight and expose our fans and visitors to the fact we do recycle and encourage them to recycle.”
Hickens said that they want people to know their efforts are appreciated because when more people recycling it increases the overall environment and economy.
“The Green Game celebrates the initiatives of Athletics in sustainability and invites fans to do their part to conserve resources, promote wellbeing and protect the loveliest village on the plains,” said Hickens.
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