Razorbacks Gear up for GameDay Recycling Challenge

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Razorback fans are being asked to help the University of Arkansas compete nationally in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Game Day Challenge this Saturday, October 6 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The Game Day Challenge is a friendly competition nearly 100 colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at their football games.

The University of Arkansas will be competing in the competition in conjunction with Saturday’s game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kickoff at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium is set for 11 a.m. CT.

The GameDay Recycling Challenge is a nationwide competition among universities to reduce and recycle the waste generated at home football games. During each competition cycle, participating schools report recycling, compost and attendance data for at least one home football game. The GameDay Recycling Challenge is administered by the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), RecycleMania, Keep America Beautiful and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WasteWise.

The Razorbacks have teamed up with Boston Mountain Solid Waste District and the University of Arkansas’ Office of Sustainability to help make the challenge a success. As part of the competition, blue recycling bags will be distributed to tailgaters.

Razorback fans and tailgaters are encouraged to throw their recyclable waste in recycle bins located in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, as well as parking lots and tailgating areas on campus. A 10-foot trailer will be located at The Gardens while a trailer will also be located at Victory Village North, just north of the stadium and near the Tyson Poultry Science Center.

In 2017, the University of Arkansas finished atop the SEC and ranked second in the nation in recycling at college football games. Razorback Athletics teamed up with Boston Mountain Solid Waste District and the University of Arkansas’ Office of Sustainability to process 56,540 pounds of recycled materials from those attending the 2017 Arkansas-Auburn game. The mark led the SEC by a wide margin and was second in the nation only to Clemson University. It marked the second straight year Arkansas has led the SEC in recycling and recorded a top-three finish nationally in recycling. Arkansas finished third in total recycling in 2016. 

Arkansas led SEC schools in three other categories in the competition, including diversion rate (78.659), the process of diverting waste from landfills.  The rate also ranked Arkansas eighth in the nation in that category. Arkansas ranked first in the SEC in Per Capita Recycling (.786) a measurement of pounds of recycling per person attending the game. Arkansas led the SEC in greenhouse gas reduction per capita (.001239) and ranked fifth among SEC schools in waste minimization (.999).    

Efforts will help Razorback Athletics in the 2018 Game Day Challenge and further support the University of Arkansas’ recycling and sustainability programs. 

This will be the eighth year that the University of Arkansas has competed in the challenge that encourages students and fans to go “green” and recycle waste during a selected football game. Schools track and report waste reductions and disposal data that are used to rank the schools in five categories including: least amount of waste generated, highest recycling rate, greatest greenhouse gas reductions, and highest organic reduction rate and highest diversion rate (a combination of trash, recycling, and composting data).  Schools report their data to the EPA and the winning schools are announced at a later date.