The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Sustainablility efforts increase during 2018 Football season
11.25.2018 | Football, Texas Athletics, Bleed Orange. Live Green.
The Texas Athletics Sustainability program continued to improve diversion rates with the goal of reaching zero waste at Football home games by the start of the 2020 season.
Season at a Glance
During the 2018 Texas Football season, the Texas Athletics Sustainability program -- sponsored by BASF, Coca-Cola, and Republic Services -- drastically improved its zero waste efforts at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Aligning itself with The University of Texas' campus-wide zero waste goal, Texas Athletics is striving to reach zero waste at Texas Football home games by the start of the 2020 season.
To reach zero waste, 90 percent of waste generated at the stadium must be diverted into either compost or recycling, sending as little as possible to the landfill. Traditional efforts include purchasing concessions products that are either recyclable or compostable; labeling waste bins properly; and sorting all of the waste after the event concludes. In addition to these efforts, Texas Athletics Sustainability continued the food recovery program started during the 2017 season. With the help of the Central Texas Food Bank, team members collected untouched meals that otherwise would have been discarded and donated them to local families in need. These efforts further assisted in reducing the amount of waste going to landfills while providing a valuable need to the community.
From the 2017 to 2018 season, the average diversion rate at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium increased from 47 percent to 52 percent. In the six home games played in 2018, the sustainability program was able to:
- Donate over 5,300 pounds of food (4,450 meals) to fight hunger in Central Texas; a 36% increase from 2017.
- Recycle 105.22 tons of waste (210,440 pounds); a 40% increase from 2017.
- Compost 49.39 tons of waste (98,780 pounds); an 85% increase from 2017.
- Achieve a 75% diversion rate during the last two football games.
- Increase the number of volunteers from 691 to 908.
- Increase our social media presence on Twitter (@TxSportsSustain) and Instagram (@bleedorangelivegreen).
"Commitment to sustainability is a University of Texas institutional initiative, and Athletics must participate fully if our campus is to reach goals outlined in the strategic plan," Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director and Chief of Staff Chris Plonsky said. "This is a team effort. Our staff and fans have been marvelously responsive to the process of recycling and composting leading to zero waste events. Our students and staff find ways each day to conserve energy and water usage. Our vendors cooperate by eliminating packaging and products that are not biodegradable. The 2019 calendar year will bring more opportunities with many upgraded athletics facility projects, all designed with improved sustainability in mind."
Season Highlights
Texas Athletics Sustainability recruited campus groups as volunteers for the Sustainability Spirit Squad who are responsible for educating fans on the concourses, and the Sustainability Sort Squad who are responsible for sorting trash into landfill, compost, and recycling streams. These groups were able to earn fundraising dollars for their organizations thanks to the UT Austin campus Green Fund grant program.
Sunday Sorts
New this season, hundreds of volunteers gathered to participate in the Sustainability Sort Squad every Sunday following each football home game. In three-hour shifts, volunteers came together to sort all gameday waste from the concourses, clubs, and suites into three different streams: compost, recycle, and landfill. Volunteers earned fundraising dollars for their organizations based on the number of people who participated on their behalf. Forty-six organizations participated throughout the season; many groups participated for two or more Sundays.
Special thanks to all the amazing volunteer groups this season! African Student Organization; Association of Latino Professionals for America; Beauties and the Beat; Best Buddies; Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society; Beta Chi Theta National Fraternity, Inc.; Blue Longhorns; Caduceus; Campus Environmental Center; Caribbean Students' Association; Central American Student Association; Concord Breast Cancer; Engineers for a Sustainable World; Forever Texas; Global Medical Brigades; Global Nutrition in Medicine ; GlobeMed; Hindu Students Association; Hispanic Health Professions Organization; HOPE Austin; Kinesiology Club; Lambda Phi Epsilon; Liberal Arts Pre-Med Society; Lions Club; PERMIAS - Indonesian Student Association; Planet Longhorn; Precious Plastics; Punjabbawockeez; Tau Beta Pi - Texas Alpha Chapter; Texas Public Health; Texas Quidditch; Texas Running Club; Texas Taekwondo; The Crows Nest; The Project; University Housing and Dining; Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Team; UT Club Dance Team; UT Club Fencing; UT Office of Sustainability; UT National Association of Black Journalists; UT Red Cross Club; UT Resource Recovery; UT Women's Club Volleyball; UT Women's Club Water Polo; VAMOS - Valley Alliance for Mentor of Opportunities and Scholarship
Sustainable Saturday
On Nov. 3 during the Texas Football vs. West Virginia game, Texas Athletics hosted "Sustainable Saturday." This particular initiative was organized to highlight Texas Athletics' zero waste efforts and increase public awareness of the initiative. The first-ever interactive 'Bleed Orange. Live Green." tent was set up on Bevo Blvd. where fans could win prizes by answering sustainability trivia or making sustainable pledges such as taking shorter showers or donating old clothes instead of throwing them away. A variety of educational and informative slides were also displayed on the videoboard during the game.
Achieved Diversion Rate Goal...Twice!
Prior to the 2018 season, Texas Athletics set a diversion rate goal of 75% for one football home game. This goal was achieved not once but twice during the home game weekends vs. West Virginia (Nov. 3) and Iowa State (Nov. 17). Over 200 volunteers participated in the Sustainability Spirit and Sort squads to sort the over-40,000 pounds of waste that was generated on the concourses and in the clubs and suites each gameday. Steps are already being taken for the 2019 season in order to achieve the ultimate goal of a 90% diversion rate.
Call to Action
Zero waste is an initiative in which everyone can participate every day and everywhere. To succeed in these goals, Texas Athletics needs the help of the Longhorn Nation. Fans may participate by properly disposing of their waste in the labeled bins along the concourse and volunteering at any of our zero waste events at football, baseball, or softball games. If you are interested in learning more about Texas Athletics Sustainability or want to participate, email sustainability@athletics.utexas.edu; visit TexasSports.com; or follow @TXSportsSustain on Twitter and @bleedorangelivegreen on Instagram.