CCU places in top 10 for GameDay Recycling Challenge
CCU finished sixth after diverting 82.36 percent of waste during a home football game on Nov. 12, 2016. The waste was either recycled or composted with the help of 20 volunteers and 12 Sustain Coastal student workers. The volunteers collected waste from the alumni tailgate, student tailgate, parking lots, stadium suites and throughout the stadium itself.
More than 975 pounds of compostables, 2,060 pounds of recyclables and 650 pounds of trash were taken to the Horry County Solid Waste Authority's processing facilities after the game, according to Jeremy Monday, sustainability coordinator.
"What a tremendous effort by the volunteers, Sustain Coastal student employees and campus partners to get this impressive result," said Monday. "It certainly wouldn't be possible without everyone working together on a project this large."
Universities compete nationwide in the GameDay Recycling Challenge. In 2015, 99 schools recycled 2.1 million pounds of bottles, cans, paper, cardboard and 457,000 pounds of food organics from stadiums and tailgating areas. This competition aims to raise awareness and inspire action about waste reduction. In 2016, more than 2,667,845 pounds of materials were recycled, composted or donated throughout the season, which is a 4.8 percent increase from the totals in 2015.
Other schools included in the top 10 were Ohio University, Eastern Washington University, Duke University, University of Rochester, the University of Akron, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the University of Minnesota, Rutgers University and the University of Arizona Office of Sustainibility.
The GameDay Recycling Challenge is administered by the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), RecycleMania, Keep America Beautiful and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise. To learn more about the GameDay Recycling Challenge, visit www.gamedaychallenge.org.