A football stadium may have green grass but does it have green habits? Each week, Great Lakes Echo highlights a Big Ten football stadium’s attempts to do the most to impact the environment the least.
All schools have information on the stadium’s diversion rate – the amount of waste recycled instead of put in a landfill.
Photo: University of Iowa.
Stadium: Kinnick Stadium
School: University of Iowa
Built: 1929
Capacity: 70,585
2012 diversion rate: 52 percent
Scouting report: The Iowa Recycling Team has united with other school organizations to keep game days clean before, during and after football games.
During pregame activities, 26 recycling bins are placed at the gate entrance of Kinnick Stadium for fans to drop their materials as they enter, according to Eric Holthaus, recycling coordinator at the school.
“The greatest opportunity is in recycling,” he said. “We have a very good and motivated operation to make it happen. The Booster Clubs of Iowa City do clean ups the day after the game and that’s where the majority of the materials are”
Kinnick Stadium’s diversion rate increased from 25 percent in 2011, said Holthaus. A total of 13,400 pounds of food material was kept from the landfill and 16 tons of cans, paper and plastic was recycled, according to the university’s sustainability website.
“Once we get really good at recycling, I think it will allow us to become good at targeting areas we can become better at, like tailgating,” said Holthaus.