By Craig Morgan, special to TheSunDevils.com
TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Athletics was named the most sustainable athletics department in the country, due in no small part to the efforts of our fans.
With approximately 50,000 fans in full force as Sun Devil Football hosted Utah, Sun Devil Stadium was able to recycle or compost 93 percent of the five tons of waste produced in that one game.
In partnership with the Pac-12 Conference and the Green Sports Alliance, Pac-12 schools were invited to compete in pursuit of a zero-waste football game during the 2016 football season. Zero waste is the concept of using recycling and composting to reduce or eliminate the amount of trash sent to landfills. ASU chose the Nov. 10 home game against Utah to take a snapshot of its zero waste efforts.
Sun Devil Stadium achieved a 93 percent diversion rate, which means just seven percent of the waste from inside the stadium went to a landfill. Everything else was recycled or composted.
"This speaks to how integrated Sun Devil Athletics has made these practices," said Alana Levine, the Assistant Director for ASU's Zero Waste program. "That stadium is saturated with zero-waste messaging from the bins to the concessions to the bathrooms to our back-of-house operations. The numbers also speak to how carefully we're paying attention to sustainability in the improvements and the renovation of the stadium, which actually played a huge part in us being able to achieve this."
Sun Devil Athletics also participated in the EPA GameDay Challenge, a national competition that includes materials from tailgating and external stadium activities. Sun Devil Stadium achieved an impressive 58.7 percent diversion rate on the latter -- 25.3 percent more than last year -- but Levine said the number provides a clear-cut goal for the future.
"For our next phase we are looking at ways we can reduce how much waste is being produced in the first place," she said. "Getting fans even more involved is a big part of our effort. Sustainability is part of the culture at ASU and certainly Sun Devil Athletics had made a bold statement in the redesign of the stadium and our commitment to sustainability. We want fans to be a part of that culture."
By improving access to zero waste receptacles and educating fans on zero waste during tailgating, Sun Devil Athletics can dramatically improve its pregame sustainability practices.
Vice President for University of Athletics Ray Anderson was recently named to the board of directors for the Green Sports Alliance, which seeks to leverage the market influence of sports to promote environmentally sustainable practices. Arizona State is one of nearly 400 member teams, venues, events and universities from 20 leagues in 14 nations.
"I was able to come in and be the beneficiary of an environment and culture that believed in green," said Anderson. "It just so happens it's something I believed in, too. Hopefully, I can contribute to the effort by believing in and emphasizing in athletics that we need to walk the walk. We're out in this beautiful desert where you can take advantage of the sun and other benefits to be sustainable."
Sun Devils Athletics hosted its first zero-waste football game in 2013 against Arizona, and then turned around and did it again for the Pac-12 title game against Stanford a week later. Now in 2016, all ticketed sporting events follow the zero-waste model. The winner of this year's Pac-12 Zero Waste Bowl will be announced at a future Green Sports Alliance event.
Here is a look at some of the achievements of this year's game.
Arizona State vs. Utah – Nov. 10, 2016
Stadium Diversion stats
Reuse: 3,475.83 lbs.
Recycling: 1,220 lbs.
Compost: 5,175. lbs.
Diverted Waste: 9870.83 lbs.
Landfill: 740 lbs.
Total Waste: 10,610.83 lbs.
Diverted Waste/Total Waste = 93%
TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Athletics was named the most sustainable athletics department in the country, due in no small part to the efforts of our fans.
With approximately 50,000 fans in full force as Sun Devil Football hosted Utah, Sun Devil Stadium was able to recycle or compost 93 percent of the five tons of waste produced in that one game.
In partnership with the Pac-12 Conference and the Green Sports Alliance, Pac-12 schools were invited to compete in pursuit of a zero-waste football game during the 2016 football season. Zero waste is the concept of using recycling and composting to reduce or eliminate the amount of trash sent to landfills. ASU chose the Nov. 10 home game against Utah to take a snapshot of its zero waste efforts.
Sun Devil Stadium achieved a 93 percent diversion rate, which means just seven percent of the waste from inside the stadium went to a landfill. Everything else was recycled or composted.
"This speaks to how integrated Sun Devil Athletics has made these practices," said Alana Levine, the Assistant Director for ASU's Zero Waste program. "That stadium is saturated with zero-waste messaging from the bins to the concessions to the bathrooms to our back-of-house operations. The numbers also speak to how carefully we're paying attention to sustainability in the improvements and the renovation of the stadium, which actually played a huge part in us being able to achieve this."
Sun Devil Athletics also participated in the EPA GameDay Challenge, a national competition that includes materials from tailgating and external stadium activities. Sun Devil Stadium achieved an impressive 58.7 percent diversion rate on the latter -- 25.3 percent more than last year -- but Levine said the number provides a clear-cut goal for the future.
"For our next phase we are looking at ways we can reduce how much waste is being produced in the first place," she said. "Getting fans even more involved is a big part of our effort. Sustainability is part of the culture at ASU and certainly Sun Devil Athletics had made a bold statement in the redesign of the stadium and our commitment to sustainability. We want fans to be a part of that culture."
By improving access to zero waste receptacles and educating fans on zero waste during tailgating, Sun Devil Athletics can dramatically improve its pregame sustainability practices.
Vice President for University of Athletics Ray Anderson was recently named to the board of directors for the Green Sports Alliance, which seeks to leverage the market influence of sports to promote environmentally sustainable practices. Arizona State is one of nearly 400 member teams, venues, events and universities from 20 leagues in 14 nations.
"I was able to come in and be the beneficiary of an environment and culture that believed in green," said Anderson. "It just so happens it's something I believed in, too. Hopefully, I can contribute to the effort by believing in and emphasizing in athletics that we need to walk the walk. We're out in this beautiful desert where you can take advantage of the sun and other benefits to be sustainable."
Sun Devils Athletics hosted its first zero-waste football game in 2013 against Arizona, and then turned around and did it again for the Pac-12 title game against Stanford a week later. Now in 2016, all ticketed sporting events follow the zero-waste model. The winner of this year's Pac-12 Zero Waste Bowl will be announced at a future Green Sports Alliance event.
Here is a look at some of the achievements of this year's game.
Arizona State vs. Utah – Nov. 10, 2016
Stadium Diversion stats
Reuse: 3,475.83 lbs.
Recycling: 1,220 lbs.
Compost: 5,175. lbs.
Diverted Waste: 9870.83 lbs.
Landfill: 740 lbs.
Total Waste: 10,610.83 lbs.
Diverted Waste/Total Waste = 93%