{"362951":{"#nid":"362951","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Record Year for Game Day Recycling","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the 2014 football season, more than 25 tons of recyclable materials collected during Georgia Tech\u2019s six home games were diverted from the landfill, setting a new record for the Institute\u2019s Game Day Recycling Program. The diverted materials were collected inside Bobby Dodd Stadium and at tailgating areas around campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis has been our breakthrough year for collaboration with everyone across campus: from the fans, to Sodexo [food services], to the Athletic Association,\u201d said Cindy Jackson, associate director, Solid Waste Management \u0026amp; Recycling at Georgia Tech. \u201cEstablishing a strong relationship with Athletics has made all the difference.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo collect game day recyclables, student volunteers distribute plastic bags to tailgaters with instructions on how to separate recyclable items, such as bottles and cans, from other trash. Solid Waste Management \u0026amp; Recycling and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association place green and white barrels around the outside of the stadium so fans can recycle bottles and cans as they enter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecycling barrels also are placed inside the stadium, and food waste from the suites is collected for composting. After each game, the cleaning staff first collects recyclables \u2014 plastic, bottles, and cups \u2014 before removing other trash.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe season total for recycling collected was 18.29 tons for the stadium and 6.73 tons for tailgating. That put the overall diversion rate \u2014 the percentage of waste kept out of landfills \u2014 at 27 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe game day weather and kick-off time affect how long fans tailgate and generate recyclables. This is the first year the collection statistics were better for the stadium than the tailgaters, according to Maria Linderoth, campus recycling coordinator, Solid Waste Management \u0026amp; Recycling.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJackson has ideas for further improving the program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need to conduct a waste audit to tell us what type of waste is going to the landfill and how much more of that can be captured and recycled,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also want to reach out to fans of our opposing teams to let them know what type of recycling program they will be participating in while they are at Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech began the Game Day Recycling Program in 2008 and has become a leader among universities. The nonprofit organization Keep America Beautiful \u0026nbsp;awarded Tech first place in waste minimization in the Game Day Recycling Challenge in 2013, and first in the ACC for organics reduction in 2014.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGeorgia Tech has a Special Events Recycling Program. Anyone planning an event can request recycling bins at \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.recycle.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ewww.recycle.gatech.edu\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"For the 2014 football season, more than 25 tons of recyclable materials were collected during Tech\u2019s six home games"}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2015-01-09 19:43:36","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:50","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-01-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-01-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"63794":{"id":"63794","type":"image","title":"Game Day Recycling Program","body":null,"created":"1449176708","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:05:08","changed":"1475894561","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:41","alt":"Game Day Recycling Program","file":{"fid":"191880","name":"GDR.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/GDR_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/GDR_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":794512,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/GDR_1.jpg?itok=QxGiupKv"}}},"media_ids":["63794"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.recycle.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"40601","name":"campus recycling"},{"id":"1842","name":"game day recycling"},{"id":"114261","name":"landfill"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-6398\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}