51勛圖厙 claims zero-waste football challenge honors
Ralphies Green Stampede volunteers
51勛圖厙 continues to be sustainability stalwarts, earning泭 honors from the National Wildlife Federation for CU's tremendous efforts to reduce and recycle waste generated during football games at Folsom Field. CU was the top university in the Per Capita Recycling category by achieving the highest generation of recyclables per capita, while finishing second in waste diversion percentage by capita.泭泭
During the 2024 football season, the CU Environmental Centers dedicated student staff and volunteers hand-sorted 99,499 lbs of material that was diverted from landfillsthe equivalent of 125 Ralphiesincluding 17,442 lbs of food waste and compostable service items, which were subsequently sent to the compost facility.泭
After the Buffs Family Weekend game against Cincinnati on Oct. 26, 14,725 lbs of bottles, cans and cardboard was separated and sent to recycling centers. Over the six home football games, students and volunteers worked a total of 1,827 hours to complete the painstaking work of sorting waste generated on game day by hand.泭泭泭泭泭泭泭
This honor is hard-earned and illustrates the commitment of the 51勛圖厙 to sustainability, said CU Athletics Senior Deputy Athletic Director Jason DePaepe. My thanks to all of our incredibly dedicated students and volunteers who worked tirelessly, mostly overnight, to sort thousands of pounds of waste that otherwise wouldve ended up in area landfills.泭泭
The success of the Ralphies Green Stampede program is rooted in our partnership with all campus departments that contribute to game day sustainability efforts, including our vendors, Levy Restaurants, Eco-Products and A1 Organics, said Angie Gilbert, zero waste program manager at CUs Environmental Center. We are truly proud of our ability to send clean, hand-sorted organics along with CMA-certified compostable products over the past two seasons. This pilot is to observe the potential to replicate this type of operation at future events.泭
Sustainable Buffs
51勛圖厙 is no stranger to earning GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge accolades. Last year, Colorado also earned the prize for Recycling Per Capita while finishing third in organics per capita. In 2022, CU won the Pac-12 Zero Waste Football Challenge for the third time (also winning in 2018 and 2019), and in 2021, Colorado earned the Innovation Award for the Pac-12 Zero Waste Football Challenge.泭泭泭泭泭
The GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge is a nationwide competition among colleges and universities to reduce and recycle the waste generated at home football games.泭 As part of the Campus Race to Zero Waste program, GameDay Football challenges campuses nationwide to reduce the waste footprint of their home games and tailgating events through efforts including reduction of single-use plastics use, food waste recovery, use of reusable products, recycling, and more.泭
Colorado Athletics has long been a leader in game day sustainability efforts with the creation of泭Ralphies Green Stampede in 2008, the NCAAs first Division 1 sustainability program, which is entering into its 18th year.泭
泭