Waste

Green Gridirons: Michigan State University

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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. Stadium: Spartan Stadium

School: Michigan State University

Built: 1923

Capacity: 75,005

2012 diversion rate: 56.3 percent

Scouting report: Michigan State University has 80 recycling containers inside Spartan Stadium during games. Staff handpicks recyclables from the grounds outside stadium gates and on Sunday mornings from tailgating lots.

Echo

Green Gridirons: Ohio State University

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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. Stadium: Ohio Stadium

School: Ohio State University

Built: 1922

Capacity: 102,329

2012 diversion rate: 87.2 percent

Scouting report: Ohio State claims to have the largest stadium to have achieved zero waste, something that requires a 90 percent diversion rate or more. Ohio Stadium’s highest diversion rate was 98.2 percent, against Illinois on Nov.

Waste

Green Gridirons: University of Michigan

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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. Stadium: Michigan Stadium (“The Big House”)

School: University of Michigan

Built: 1927

Capacity: 107,521

2012 diversion rate: 22.7 percent. Scouting report: Recycling efforts at the stadium began almost 20 years ago in 1994, and the University of Michigan currently has the biggest stadium recycling program in the nation.

Waste

Green Gridirons: University of Nebraska

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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. Stadium: Memorial Stadium

School: University of Nebraska

Built: 1923

Capacity: 81,091

2012 diversion Rate: 95 percent

Scouting report: The school’s athletic department began partnering with Recycling Enterprises of Nebraska during the 2008 season to max out recycling.  Recycling bins for paper and plastic are placed near all trash receptacles, said Richard Sutton, professor of Agronomy and Horticulture. The athletic department also asks fans to pick up the surrounding area of their seats during and after games.

Echo

Green Gridirons: University of Illinois

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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. Stadium: Memorial Stadium

School: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Built: 1922

Capacity: 60,670

2012 diversion rate: 84.50 throughout campus; n/a for stadium only

Scouting report: “We are just starting our green initiative out for the stadium,” said Lenny Willis, director of athletic facilities at the University of Illinois. The university plans to collaborate with the campus to start a stadium-specific program, with recycling bins at the gates and in parking lots.

Waste

Green Gridirons: Rutgers University

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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. Stadium: High Point Solutions Stadium

School: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey*

Built: 1994

Capacity: 52,454

2012 diversion rate: 52.4 percent

Scouting Report: On Oct. 27, 2012, Rutgers achieved a 94.6 percent diversion rate during a game against Kent State University, the fourth highest rate recorded nationwide.

Waste

Green Gridirons: University of Wisconsin

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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. Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium

School: University of Wisconsin

Built: 1917

Capacity: 80,321

2012 diversion rate: 33 percent

Scouting report: Each game day, community and student volunteers create awareness about the importance of conservation efforts at the university like recycling and compost bins, said Meredith Keller, student programs coordinator at the university’s office of sustainability. The stadium saw a significant increase in diversion rate from 3 percent at the start of the season to 33 percent during the last game, said Keller.

Echo

Green Gridirons: Penn State University

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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. Stadium: Beaver Stadium

School: Penn State University

Built: 1960

Capacity: 106,572

2009 diversion rate: 48.6 percent

Scouting report: Penn State has been recycling at Beaver Stadium for almost 16 years, but a recent initiative to promote recycling helped the university more than triple its recycling average. Since 2008, Penn State has diverted more than 100 tons of trash from landfills from Beaver Stadium, university officials said.

Waste

Green Gridirons: University of Maryland

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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. Stadium: Byrd Stadium

School: University of Maryland*

Built: 1950

Capacity: 54,000

2008 diversion rate: 41 percent

Scouting report: Maryland’s “Feed the Turtle” program began in 2008 to expand food composting and recycling at home football games. The program’s name refers to the mascot of the school, a terrapin.

Waste

Green Gridirons: Indiana University

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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. Stadium: Memorial Stadium, or “The Rock”

School: Indiana University

Built: 1960

Capacity: 52,929

2012 diversion rate: 54 percent

Scouting report: During the 2012 football season, Indiana University achieved their goal of increasing their 37 percent diversion rate to 54 percent. Volunteers also handed out recycle bags in tailgate areas to keep the waste down.