Recycle on the Go Success Stc
University of Tennessee,
Neyland Stadium's Recycling Program
Neyland Stadium, located on the University of Tennessee (UT) campus in Knoxville, is home of the UT Volunteers
football team. With a seating capacity of 104,079, it is the largest football stadium in the South, and the
third-largest college stadium in the country Since 1993, the stadium has collected more than 50 tons of
Facts at a Glance
Neyland Stadium has
a seating capacity of
104,079 and sells out
nearly every game.
Neyland is the third-
largest college stadium
in the country.
The stadium currently
recycles 15 percent of the
15 tons of waste generated
during each game.
The stadium recycled
more than 17 tons of
material during the 2006
season.
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Neyland Stadium,
Photo: University of Tennessee Video & Photography Center
Program Overview
The recycling efforts at UT's Neyland Stadium are spearheaded through Good Sports
Always Recycle™ (GSAR), a recycling program cosponsored by UT, Eastman Chemical
Company, Knoxville Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Waste Connections, and Food City.
The program encourages Big Orange fans to toss their empty plastic cups and bottles into
designated recycling bins located in the concourses and tailgating areas.
UT's Athletics Department began working with GSAR in 1993 to increase recycling at
sporting events and in the community. Today the program recycles plastic cups, water
bottles, and cardboard inside the stadium and at athletic events throughout the year, and
plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and newspapers in tailgating areas.
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Recycle on the Go
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Facts at a Glance
The recycling program
saves UT about $3,500
in avoided trash hauling
costs per season.
Fifty-five-gallon wheeled
toters are used inside the
stadium, while collapsible
ClearStream® bins are
placed in the tailgating
area.
In 2006, UT students
volunteered 200 hours of
service staffing a recycling
booth, picking up litter,
and pulling trash from the
stadium's recycling bins.
Regular and congenial
interaction with fans in
the tailgating areas can
help ensure a successful
recycling program.
Sponsorships and
partnerships with local
businesses, nonprofit
organizations, and
government agencies for
funding, hauling, logistical
support, or staffing can
help launch, maintain,
or expand a recycling
program.
The stadium typically hosts seven football games per season, during which the recycling
program is active. When basketball season rolls around, the 55-gallon toters used in the
stadium are moved to the Thompson-
Boling Arena for use during the
basketball season. The smaller,
collapsible bins, which feature blue
plastic tops, foldable metal leg frames,
and clear plastic bags, are used in the
tailgating areas during football season
and then used for other outdoor
events during the year, such as a
picnic for freshmen.
The recycling program also helps
educate students across Tennessee
about the benefits of recycling.
Each year a committee chaired by a
representative of the Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation selects ten K-12 schools with outstanding
recycling programs to enjoy a tailgating party and free access to a home game as guests of
the GSAR program. During an on-field ceremony, each school representative receives a
commemorative plaque and a check for $500 to support its respective recycling program.
HOST Communications, in partnership with GSAR sponsors, broadcasts recycling
messages on the university's television and radio network to give GSAR maximum
exposure. The sports call-in show also gives away GSAR prize packs filled with sponsor gifts.
Nuts and Bolts
Materials, Bins, and Placement. Inside the stadium, soft drinks are sold in plastic
stadium cups, while water is sold in plastic bottles (plastics #1 or #2). No beer is sold on
campus. No glass or aluminum containers are allowed or used inside Neyland Stadium, so
the recycling bins collect plastic bottles and cups only.
In-stadium recycling bins are positioned in the fall of each year before football season
and remain in place throughout the entire season. Fans inside the stadium can recycle
their plastic drink bottles and stadium cups by placing them in one of 140 recycling bins
located in the concourses. The wheeled, 55-gallon bins feature restrictive, locking lids
to minimize contamination (mixing trash with recyclable materials). Stickers on the
bins feature the program's name, Good Sports Always Recycle, as well as the logos of the
sponsoring partners. Overhead signs above the bins feature the "chasing arrows" recycling
symbol. Clear liners are used in the recycling bins to assure that material collected after
each game can be easily identified as recyclables.
Tailgating areas provide another opportunity for fans to recycle. Since 2005, more than
100 recycling bins have been placed in the tailgating areas and other high-traffic locations
outside the stadium, including near the entrance gates, to collect commingled plastic
bottles and aluminum cans. (Fans are not allowed to bring beverages inside the stadium.)
At the start of the 2007 season, the stadium placed 20 of the small, collapsible bins at
entrance points to collect newspapers and other kinds of paper.
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Recycle on the Go
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Recycle on the Go U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Collection. Between games the bins are stored in a nearby university-owned warehouse.
On game days, workers set the recycling bins in place by 8 a.m. After kickoff, all the bins
in the parking lot are picked up to avoid damage or theft of either the bins or recyclables.
Newspapers, which feature game day player lineups, also are collected after kickoff from
five distribution locations scattered around campus in areas with high pedestrian traffic.
The cleanup process inside the stadium begins the morning after a game. In addition
to the materials placed in the recycling bins, workers collect for recycling all cups
and bottles that fans leave inside the stadium, such as those left beneath the seats.
Remaining liquid is poured into
five-gallon buckets and then
poured down a drain. The cups
are stacked and then gathered
into clear bags. Throughout
the morning the cleaning crew
places trash bags (black), bags
of cups and bottles (clear), and
cardboard from the concession
areas into three separate piles
on the concourses. Two lift-gate
trucks owned and operated
by the UT facilities staff, one
for cups and bottles, and one
for cardboard, collect the
recyclables as they are pulled
from the stadium and then
transport the materials to 60-yard
roll-off dumpsters located near the stadium. The following Monday, the campus
waste hauler, also a GSAR sponsor, picks up the roll-off dumpsters and trucks them
to a recycling facility to drop off the recyclables.
Oversight and Reporting. The logistics of the program are overseen by the campus
recycling coordinator, who is onsite during recycling collection Saturdays and Sundays
of every game day weekend. For the first three games, the recycling coordinator is in the
field supervising recycling activities.
The recycling coordinator's role includes overseeing the entire process from placement
of the bins to hauling of the materials to the recycling facility. The coordinator also
is responsible for troubleshooting, such as dealing with heavy rain situations, finding
missing recycling bins, scoping the parking lot to ensure that all recycling bins have been
picked up after the game, and coordinating the placement and removal of dumpsters with
the waste hauler.
The coordinator also maintains contact with the recycling facility, which provides
monthly weight tallies. The weights are given for materials collected from inside the
stadium and from the tailgating areas. Cardboard weights are reported separately, as are
newspaper totals.
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Staff Training. Three staff members do a majority of the cleanup work. They
attend a 30-minute training meeting the week before each game. At this time, they
are given a packet of information to use over the weekend, which includes aerial
photographs or maps of the parking lots with locations
marked for each recycling bin in the tailgating area,
the order for setting out and picking up the bins, and a
timeline for the weekend's activities. These individuals
work about 8 hours each Saturday and Sunday to help
with the recycling duties.
Student volunteers assist in picking up litter in the
tailgating areas and emptying full recycling bins and
relining them. After kickoff, the volunteers also help
break down the bins in the tailgating areas. Students wear
t-shirts that read "Make Orange
Green," which is a branding
slogan for the campus's
environmental efforts that plays
on UT's school color, orange.
Volunteers in white
"Make Orange Green"
t-shirts pick up litter and
recyclables outside the
stadium.
T
.1:
Education and Outreach.
UT educates its visitors and
fans about the stadium and
tailgating recycling programs
through a number of avenues.
First, student volunteers
staff a table and booth with
information about recycling
and "green tailgating" in the
Volunteer Village, which is an area of lawn outside the stadium that serves as the radio
hub for WIVK's game day broadcast and hosts family-oriented, pre-game events such as
face painting. During the 2006 academic year, students volunteered 200 hours of service
staffing the recycling booth, picking up litter, pulling trash placed in outdoor recycling
bins, and relining the bins.
Information about the stadium's recycling program is included in the official playbook
sold at each game. The playbook features a two-page color advertisement that shows a
photo of a football player beside a recycling bin with the message "Good Sports Always
Recycle." Video clips also run on the jumbotron, and the radio DJ periodically intersperses
reminders to fans to "Make Orange Green" by recycling.
Financing the Program. GSAR sponsors provide the financial support to operate the
stadium's recycling program, covering the cost of purchasing the recycling bins, hauling
the materials to the recycling facility, and supporting the education and outreach.
UT pays both hauling and tipping fees for each dumpster of waste that is emptied, but the
waste-hauling contractor is a GSAR partner and offers the university a reduced rate on the
hauling fee. Because the company that receives the recyclables does not charge a tipping
fee, the more UT recycles, the fewer times dumpsters on campus need to be emptied and
the less the university pays in hauling and tipping fees. Ultimately, the recycling program
Students staff the "Make Orange
Green" booth in the Volunteer
Village, which provides tips on
green tailgating and recycling.
Recycle on the Go U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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coordinator estimates that UT saves about $3,500 in reduced hauling and tipping fees per
season based on a lower volume of trash hauled to a landfill.
The GSAR program also runs the recycling program at the Thompson-Boling Arena
during basketball season and collects plastic cups from all other events in the arena as well.
Results From the 2005 and 2006 Football Seasons
Material
Plastic cups and bottles from inside the stadium
Plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the
tailgating areas
Cardboard from vending areas
Newspaper
Totals
2005 Collection
(in Pounds)
6,300
3,000
5,300
5,540
20,140
2006 Collection
(in Pounds)
10,587
5,293
7,600
10,000
33,480
Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: The biggest challenge is educating the staff, volunteers, vendors, and
contract workers who are responsible for handling the materials. For
example, high turnover among the staff of the waste/cleaning contractor
that cleans the stadium on Sunday mornings requires vigilance in
oversight to ensure that recyclables are kept separate from other wastes
and delivered to the concourse area for collection and recycling.
Solution: One solution is for the recycling coordinator to arrive onsite at 7:30 a.m.
Sunday to make sure the collection starts off properly and that everyone is
informed of the process.
Challenge: Figuring out where to place recycling bins in tailgating areas can be a matter
of trial and error.
Solution: The best places tend to have high pedestrian traffic and a high volume
of materials, and are often where people are congregated together
sitting, eating, and drinking. Regular and
congenial interaction with fans—on the parts
of the recycling coordinator, facilities and
maintenance staff, volunteers, and others with a
stake in the recycling effort—can be one of the
best ways to ensure success. Fans at UT tend to
tailgate in the same place every game, and many
end up "adopting" a bin near their chosen spots.
According to the UT recycling coordinator,
finding the best spots to place the bins may
take a few games or even a few
years—and coordinators should be
willing to modify their placements
as necessary over time.
Recycle on the Go U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
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Reasons for Success
Sponsorship or Partnership. The stadium's four corporate partners who fund GSAR are
active in implementing the recycling program, and their support is integral to the ongoing
success. When possible, seeking sponsorships or partnerships with local businesses—
including waste/recycling vendors—nonprofit organizations, or government agencies to
provide funding, hauling, logistical support, or staffing can help launch, maintain, or expand
a recycling program. Sponsors that offer relevant products or services as well as others that
might be interested in publicity for their environmental efforts can be good candidates.
Choosing Materials to Recycle. Stadium officials selected the materials to recycle (and
purchase, in the case of the plastic cups used
inside the stadium) based on their knowledge
of what materials would be accepted by the
local recycling facility. Plastics labeled #1
and #2 were selected because they could be
recycled locally.
Future Forecast
• In the future, the recycling coordinator
plans to work more with its concessionaires
and vendors to reduce the volume of waste
they produce.
• In the large, paved parking lots where fans
tailgate, which are unsuitable for using
collapsible-frame recycling bins because of
parking and traffic patterns, the recycling
program is considering handing out
translucent orange bags for fans to collect
their plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
The goal would be to encourage fans to
place their recyclables in the orange bags,
and then UT staff would drive through
the parking lots collecting the bags of
recyclables.
AmeriCorps volunteers
occasionally help collect materials
for the UT recycling program.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA530-F-07-024
September 2007
www.epa.gov/recycleonthego
.ecycled/Recyclable - Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer,
Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper
Disclaimer: The mention of any company, product, or process in this publication does
not constitute or imply endorsement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA is partnering with
federal agencies, states,
municipalities, and
organizations to promote
recycling in public places.
www.epa.gov/recycleonthego
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