Kent State University’s third annual Game Day Challenge has helped increase recycling efforts.
The Game Day Challenge is a yearly event hosted by 64 colleges and universities across the nation. The main goal is to increase awareness about recycling.
Kent State has increased recycling per person each year since its first time in the Game Day Challenge in 2013.
As one of seven universities in the Mid-American Conference, Kent State placed third out of six Ohio schools in the Game Day Challenge. The event took place at the home football game on Oct. 24 against Bowling Green State University where more than 14,000 people attended.
Leah Graham, outreach recycling coordinator for Facilities Planning and Operations at Kent State, says there were a record number of 18 Kent State student volunteers at the event.
“They helped encourage fans to recycle, know what is and isn’t recyclable, and they also did a stadium sweep at the end of the game to help collect recyclables,” Graham says.
Graham says after five hours of tailgating and the football game, the attendees generated 6,147 pounds of waste and 2,907 pounds of it was recycled. She explained how 4.6 metric tons of greenhouse gases were avoided, which is the equivalent to taking a car off the road for about 10 months.
Graham says she received great feedback about the Game Day Challenge from football game attendees and student volunteers.
“One of the students said when they were going through the stadium, Kent State President Beverly Warren thanked them for what they were doing, so that was exciting for them,” Graham says.
Kent State is currently hosting another recycling challenge, RecycleMania, which began Feb. 7 and runs through April 2.
For more information about Kent State’s sustainability efforts, visit www.kent.edu/sustainability.
