{"id":21469,"date":"2017-08-01T10:15:09","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T14:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=21469"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:11:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:11:06","slug":"penn-state-beaver-stadium-reduce-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/penn-state-beaver-stadium-reduce-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State University Researcher Helps Beaver Stadium and Other Sports Venues Reduce Waste"},"content":{"rendered":"

Penn State University\u2019s Beaver Stadium, home to the Nittany Lions football team, is the second largest university stadium in the U.S. It hosts seven home games each year with attendance for each game reaching anywhere from 110,000 to 150,000. Imagine the waste generated in the stadium and the surrounding parking lots, which together occupy 110 acres of land! <\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, <\/span>Judd Michael<\/span><\/a>, a professor of business management for natural resources industry at Penn State, has been helping Beaver Stadium reduce waste on game days. <\/span><\/p>\n

He is also using his expertise to help other sports venues, such as <\/span>Pocono International Raceway and NASCAR Green, find \u201cgreen\u201d solutions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The University Network (TUN) spoke with Michael about his efforts to make sports venues more environmentally friendly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zero Waste Showcase at Beaver Stadium<\/b><\/h2>\n

Michael\u2019s efforts to reduce waste at Beaver Stadium started in 2013 when he partnered with Green Sports Alliance and NatureWorks to make the President\u2019s and Governmental Affairs suites section of Beaver Stadium a <\/span>zero waste showcase<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The initiative resulted in 95 percent diversion of landfill waste at the first home game in 2013 and 100 percent diversion by the last game. <\/span>Diversion in 2014 was also 100 percent at each game. If the same initiative were applied to the whole stadium, over 50 tons of waste would be diverted after each game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael also collaborated with various departments at Penn State, including the President\u2019s Office, Office of Donor Relations, Office of Governmental Affairs, Hospitality Services, Intercollegiate Athletics, and Office of Physical Plant, to make the initiative a success. <\/span><\/p>\n

He relied on more than 30 Penn State students as his zero-waste ambassadors at each game to educate and engage fans on the zero-waste goals. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have had multiple undergrad and graduate classes working on the campus zero waste projects,\u201d said Michael. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been good experience for the students and they have made a tangible impact on operations while gaining valuable skills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The initiative introduced the use of eco-friendly cups, utensils, plates and straws from Ingeo. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPackaging and foodservice items were the first step in achieving our zero waste goals,\u201d Michael said in a statement. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Ingeo\u2019s ASTM-certified products allowed us to have confidence that the materials we collected would be compatible with our university composting system. We were also confident that the suites clientele would not be disappointed in the performance of the foodservice items provided by StalkMarket.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Compostable materials from each game were <\/span>taken to Penn State\u2019s own composting facility and converted into mulch over time, so it could be used on campus or sold to others. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We are lucky to have our own state-of-the-art composting facility where we can test various materials and send compostables with a very small transportation footprint,\u201d said Michael. <\/span><\/p>\n

He credits NatureWorks and PepsiCo for their contribution to the university\u2019s composting efforts. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNatureWorks has been a valued partner in all that we have done in this area, and their experts have given us lots of advice and products to test,\u201d said Michael. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPepsiCo has also been a key partner in working with us on cutting edge compostable packaging. Their R&D group is working on new packaging products that will be used with potato chips and other snack products.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The initiative mandated waste audits, which were taken after each game, so the research team could <\/span>learn about the composition of waste created and figure out where they should direct their efforts. <\/span><\/p>\n