Eleven universities divert 130,000 pounds of waste

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2010 Game Day Challenge college football competition resulted in a diversion of 130,000 pounds of waste material from landfills in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

This achievement prevented the release of 181 metric tons of carbon dioxide which is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 31 cars.

“Notre Dame won the Challenge in the upper Midwest, diverting 37,600 pounds of waste for the Green Team,” said Bruce Sypniewski, director of EPA Region 5’s Land and Chemical Division.

Universities in the Region 5 states that participated in the Challenge included Bowling Green State University, Central Michigan University, Illinois State University, Indiana University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, Purdue University, the Ohio State University, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and University of Notre Dame.

During the month of October, each school tracked the amount of recycled, composted, reused, donated and/or disposed of waste during one home football game. The competition was sponsored by EPA’s WasteWise program, a voluntary effort through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes, benefitting their bottom line and the environment. Launched in 1994, the program has more than 2,700 members.

Nationally, 79 colleges and universities participated in the Game Day Challenge. The schools together diverted more than 500,000 pounds of waste from landfills, which prevented the release of 940 metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 179 cars.