Green Grove Initiative
During the 2009 football season, the University of Mississippi will be launching its official gameday recycling program – the Green Grove initiative. The Green Grove initiative is an ongoing effort to make recycling a part of the tailgating tradition on gameday. The focus of Green Grove this year is on Crunch Time! When it’s crunch time, it is time to bring everything you have to make a difference—on and off the field. This year, we are rising to the occasion to step up our recycling efforts and to take the tailgating experience to a whole new level. Fans and tailgaters will now find recycling containers throughout the Grove, Circle, and Football stadium as well as volunteers, who will be providing outreach and collection support on gameday.
The pilot phase of this recycling effort kicked-off during the 2008 football season with members of the UM community passing out green recycling bags and educating tailgaters on the importance of recycling.
The success of the Green Grove Campaign will depend on the collective engagement of the entire Ole Miss Family so we greatly appreciate your support of this initiative. With the enhanced gameday recycling plan, UM will significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and ultimately the costs associated with the gameday cleanup and waste removal.
The Green Grove Campaign is a cooperative effort between the Department of Athletics, Office of Campus Sustainability, Department of Landscape Services, the Physical Plant Department, and numerous other groups and organizations across campus.
Recycling in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
Inside the stadium, plastic water and soft drink bottles (plastics #1 or #2) are recyclable. No glass or aluminum containers are allowed or used inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, so the recycling bins collect plastic water and soft drink bottles only. The commemorative cups are currently not recyclable (Plastic #5) and should be considered a reusable container that we encourage everyone to take home with them following the game. In the stadium Coca-cola recycling bins are positioned throughout the stadium near each major entrance, concession stands, and within individual suites and sky boxes.
Recycling in the Grove and Circle
Before the Game:
Before the game, tailgaters have several options to support the collection of gameday recyclables.
- Tailgaters can place their plastic bottles and aluminum cans within designated recycling bins located throughout the Grove and Circle. Starting in the 2009 football season, UM will utilize new collection bins, which feature foldable metal leg frames and green, clear plastic bags.
- Volunteers will walk through the Grove 1-2 hours before kickoff to collect recycling bags. Volunteer time shifts will adjust based on the time of each home game. In general, volunteers will be available up until the time of kick-off to collect your tent’s recyclables.
After the Game:
After the game, we encourage tailgaters to place their plastic water bottles and aluminum cans next to the nearest clear stream recycling container located throughout the Grove and Circle. Any recycling bags containing non-recyclables or any other trash bags left at tailgating tent locations after the game will be considered trash, as these bags are often contaminated with food products. Please note that Red Solo Cups are not recyclable and should not be placed in the recycling bins.
Collection Process
On gameday, recycling bins will be set up throughout the Grove and Circle several hours before kickoff. Following the game, gameday recyclables from the Grove, Circle and in the stadium are collected in large recycling bins and then transported to the local recycling facility.
During the cleanup process following the game, all the bins are picked up to avoid damage or theft of either the bins or recyclables. Between games, the bins are stored at an on-campus storage facility.
Education and Outreach
An integral component of the Crunch Time campaign is the education and outreach efforts. We will seek to connect with fans in a number of ways. Volunteers will engage fans in the Grove and the Circle and will provide information about recycling and the Crunch Time campaign. Information about the stadium’s recycling program will be included in the official game day program sold at each game. Video clips and public service announcements on UM’s recycling efforts will also run on the video board and be delivered on the PA system throughout each home game.
Volunteer Support
The Crunch Time Campaign is supported by individual volunteers as well as local/campus organizations, businesses, and alumni. Individuals and organizations will be asked to commit to a 2-hour shift at one of the home football games.
Education and outreach are critical components to the gameday recycling campaign. Volunteers will go throughout the Grove and the Circle to engage the community in this effort by awarding prizes, distributing information, and answering questions.
The exact times of the volunteer shifts will depend on the kickoff time of each game. For more information on volunteer opportunities and the online sign-up form, please vist: www.olemiss.edu/green/volunteer.html.
Home Game Volunteer Opportunities
- Game #1: Saturday, September 19, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. Southeastern LA
- Game #2: Saturday, October 10, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. Alabama
- Game #3: Saturday, October 17, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. UAB
- Game #4: Saturday, October 24, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. Arkansas
- Game #5: Saturday, November 7, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. Northern Arizona
- Game #6: Saturday, November 14, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. Tennessee
- Game #7: Saturday, November 21, 2009 – Ole Miss vs. LSU
Partnerships
The initiative can only be strengthened by sponsorship and partnerships with local business—including waste/recycling vendors—nonprofit organizations, and government agencies that can provide critical funding, hauling, logistical support, and staffing support to successfully implement UM’s game day recycling program.
We would like to give a special thank you to our current corporate partners, International Paper and Coca-Cola, who have offered their time and resources to help ensure the success of this program. If you or your organization is interested in partnering with our gameday recycling efforts, please email us at green@olemiss.edu for more information.
Future Forecast
The gameday recycling program will continue to expand and improve throughout each football season. Several important elements of the program that the university is exploring for future expansion include the following:
- The Office of Sustainability plans to work more closely with its concessionaires and vendors to reduce the volume of waste they produce and to provide education on sustainable food and drink product containers that would better align with UM’s gameday recycling efforts.
- UM hopes to include more products in the recycling program, such as the ubiquitous red Solo cups, cardboard, glass, as well as organic products in the form of composting.
- Beginning in the 2010 season, tailgaters interested in the game day recycling efforts can go the extra mile beyond basic recycling and get their tailgating tents “Green Certified.” Green Certified tents are expected to meet a higher standard of sustainability. If you are interested in having your tent serve in the Green Certified Tent pilot program during the 2009 season, please email us at green@olemiss.edu.
Contact Information
We recognize that this effort is not an easy feat but we are excited about working with the Ole Miss community as we move forward with this initiative one step at a time. We are encouraged by the support we have received so far from volunteers, departments and campus organizations, and corporate partners.
For further information on the campaign or if you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities, please visit us at http://www.olemiss.edu/green/volunteer.html or email us at green@olemiss.edu.