Resources

Game Day Challenge

Tell Us Your Success Story

Tell us about the waste reduction efforts at your school's football games and we might highlight your school’s accomplishments on this page. To submit your story, contact the WasteWise Helpline (wastewisehelp@epa.gov) or (800) EPA-WISE.

WasteWise Helpline

The WasteWise Helpline, a free service, offers access to information specialists trained to answer questions about the Game Day Challenge, including technical questions on how to design and implement a Game Day waste reduction program. You can contact the WasteWise Helpline at wastewisehelp@epa.gov or (800) EPA-WISE.

Toolkits

The Collegiate Football Sustainable Materials Management Toolkit (63 pp, 1.7MB, about PDF) provides a guide for institutions of higher education across the country to implement or improve their game day recycling and sustainability efforts. This document, a product of the leadership and analysis of Virginia Tech students working for Virginia Tech’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, provides the framework for developing a game day program from scratch to include a road map for continually improving your existing program.

The final toolkit was developed in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a national panel of technical experts from The Ohio State University, Penn State, Peninsula Sanitary Service, Inc. (PSSI)/Stanford Recycling, University of Colorado Boulder, and Wake Forest University. The project is supported by the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and Keep America Beautiful, all critical national sustainability organizations.

Tailgating Recycling Starter Kit: As part of your Game Day Challenge, or if you want to just get recycling started at your tailgating events, check out America Recycles Day’s Toolkits for a Go-to Guide. Also for the first 150 colleges that sign up to host a tailgating recycling event between October 27 and November 30 as part of America Recycles Day, you are eligible for promotional material which includes a Game Day Recycling banner, 50 “I recycle” buttons, 15 t-shirts and 500 recycling bags. Sign up today at America Recycles Day .

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Success Stories

Recycling at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium (PDF) (5 pp, 360K, about PDF)
University of Tennessee, Neyland Stadium’s Recycling Program (PDF) (6 pp, 876K, about PDF)
2009 Game Day Challenge Success Stories

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Webinars

September 22, 2011 – EPA provided an overview on the 2011 Game Day Challenge during a CURC Webinar on Greening College Athletics . Additional presentations included best management practices for game day programs.

2010 Game Day Challenge Kick-Off Webinar (September 23, 2010) A webinar was held on September 23, 2010 to discuss the 2010 Game Day Challenge. Participants learned about the Challenge and found out what their college or university would have to do to participate. In addition, experts from around the country talked about their Game Day waste reduction programs, what worked, and what didn’t. The presentations from the webinar are below:

Game Day Challenge Overview – Ron Vance, US EPA (PDF) (22 pp, 484K)
Ohio University Game Day Program – Ed Newman (PDF) (21 pp, 3.2MB)
Harvard University Game Day Program – Rob Gogan (PDF) (16 pp, 989K)
University of Colorado Game Day Program – Jack DeBell (PDF) (58 pp, 4.8MB)

2010 Game Day Challenge Wrap-Up Webinar (January 25, 2011) A webinar was held on January 25, 2011 for participating schools and other interested stakeholders to hear about the results of the 2010 Game Day Challenge, including presentations from winning schools. The presentations from the webinar are below:

2010 Game Day Challenge Results – Ron Vance, US EPA (PDF) (13 pp, 313K)
University of Tennessee at Martin 2010 Game Day Program – Angie MacKewn (PDF) (8 pp, 1.1MB)
University of California, Davis 2010 Game Day Program – Lin King (PDF) (19 pp, 801K)
University of Central Oklahoma 2010 Game Day Program – Tim Tillman (PDF) (8 pp, 371K)
Marist College 2010 Game Day Program – Theresa Bettencourt (PDF) (10 pp, 2.1MB)

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Tools & Resources

Recycle On The Go provides information on target areas and tips for reducing waste in stadiums.
The Stadium Recycling Guide provides direction on setting up a recycling program at a stadium.
The How to Set up a Recycling Program website has information on setting up a recycling program at a stadium.
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery’s (CalRecycle’s) Venues and Events: Reducing Waste
“Rock and Wrap it Up!” works with sports teams to help fight hunger in their team’s community by clubhouse and stadium food recovery.
The NRDC Greening Advisor The Natural Resources Defense Council’s web-based tool featuring advice on sustainable stadium operations and team practices.
Venue and Event Recycling in the USA estimates the potential volume of recyclable containers generated and provides six guiding principles shared by all successful recycling models.
Ralphie’s Green Stampede is the University of Colorado’s ambitious effort to reuse, recycle, or compost valuable materials, thereby reducing the environmental impact of home football games.
College and University Recycling Council is a network of campus-based recycling professionals who facilitate information exchange on operating recycling and waste reduction programs at North American institutions of higher learning.
RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.