It’s another great year on the gridiron for the Hawkeyes, but while C.J. Beathard and the rest of the team are scoring touchdowns on the field, many fans have helped score one for the environment, reducing the waste going to the landfill through recycling efforts.

Game Day Recycling is a joint effort involving several partners from the community, UI Facilities Management and Athletics staff, and the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.  Other fraternities such as Delta Upsilon assist, as well as student groups National Residence Hall Honorary and the Iowa-Illinois Industrial Hygiene Student Association.

Delta Tau Delta, who has consistently contributed the most volunteers, started the effort along with Facilities Management and Athletics during the 2012 season. That year they were able to improve the diversion rate of trash from 25 percent to 52 percent.

The diversion rate is the percent of material that gets diverted from the landfill through recycling or composting. This Game Day Recycling program is part of the UI’s 2020 Vision sustainability goal to divert 60 percent of waste from the landfill by 2020.

Now three games in, the University has successfully diverted 40 percent for the Miami Ohio game, 29 percent for the Iowa State game, and 38 percent for the of North Dakota State University game. That’s a total of 16,920 pounds or 8.5 tons diverted from the landfills.

But it’s not just about recycling during the game, President of Delta Tau Delta Benjamin Grothe said.

“We are the first faces they see when they enter Kinnick,” Grothe said. “We almost serve as ambassadors to the fans from the University.”

“It’s a lot about raising awareness,” said Dave Jackson, assistant director in Facilities Management, adding that they aim to make recycling very convenient, and make fans feel welcomed to the stadium.

 “On Saturdays, we try to have a visible presence with fans,” he said. “I’ve had people tell me that now they’re much less likely to just drop their trash and instead will look for one of our recycling spots.”

Aramark also plays a vital role in the process by collecting concession food waste and sending it to the Iowa City Landfill’s Community Compost facility. Composting keeps these materials out of landfills where they release potent greenhouse gas. It is just one of the ways Game Day Recycling makes a sustainable difference at the University of Iowa.

With great volunteers and a new recycling coordinator, Beth Mackenzie, the university will keep trying to divert more and more trash from the landfills.

Of course, they’re always looking for more volunteers to supplement the Delt volunteers for a total of 25 to 30 recycling ambassadors at home games. If you or your group want to help the Hawkeyes set an example both on and off the field, contact Beth MacKenzie at elizabeth-k-mackenzie@uiowa.edu.

Learn more about Game Day Recycling here[PA1] .

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