The UF Office of Sustainability is launching a pilot program to make Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the first zero-waste stadium in the Southeastern Conference.
For the last home game of the 2014 season against Eastern Kentucky University, office volunteers will stand at each bin inside the stadium to help fans recycle and compost.
The program is part of UF’s efforts to become a zero-waste campus by 2015. The university created this goal after UF President Bernie Machen addressed the issue on Sustainability Day in 2005, said Allison Vitt, the outreach and communications coordinator for the Office of Sustainability.
However, Vitt said not all of the stadium’s waste can be recycled or composted. The Office of Sustainability’s real goal is to divert 90 percent of the waste from landfills.
She said the office can control what is sold and the type of packaging used for the food and beverages in the stadium.
Waste Corporation of America picks up waste for UF. It then hauls the organic and compostable materials to its partner, Watson C&D, where it is mixed with residential yard waste.
“We are glad that all of UF is under one umbrella, using the same waste partner to have a cohesive recycling program,” Vitt said.
The TailGator Game Day Recycling Program, another university effort to become zero waste, began in 2006 when the Office of Sustainability was founded. Volunteers attend tailgates on home gamedays and hand out recycling bags to be picked up later.
At the start of the 2013 football season, 28 percent of waste was diverted from landfills. By the end, 78 percent was diverted.
“It’s really been a learning process, and we are getting better and better every game,” Vitt said.
The office is working with stadium vendors to switch to more compostable materials.
Environmental engineering sophomore Kate Lewis said she is proud to attend a university that places value on making the environment cleaner.
“Spreading awareness is a major step in creating a greener Earth,” the 19-year-old said.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 11/13/2014]
