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Athletics jumps on the recycling bandwagon

Athletics RecyclingAt the NU vs. Minnesota football game on October 19, Northwestern participated in the EPA Game Day Challenge to increase Wildcat fan recycling and decrease the game's carbon footprint. EPA Game Day Challenge is a national competition, which promotes waste reduction at college and university football games.

sustainNU volunteers encouraged recycling at the tailgating sites and in the stadium by increasing awareness to keep recyclables out of the landfill. In partnership with Athletics and the Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band (NUMB), recycling announcements were made during the game and the NUMB created a recycling formation during the half-time show. Lastly, Advanced Disposal sponsored Game Day and donated the sustainNU volunteer t-shirts.

More than 16,000 pounds of waste were recycled, equating to a 66 percent diversion rate. This number has been reported to the EPA, who will then rank Northwestern among the 70 colleges and universities who are participating in the challenge. The EPA ranks the schools based on five categories: waste minimization, diversion rate, greenhouse gas reduction, recycling rate, and organics reduction. Rankings will be announced at the end of the football season, stay tuned!