Volunteers are needed for two University of Illinois basketball games host to enhanced recycling operations for Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste. Both contests are heavily-anticipated home finales at State Farm Center (SFC): Illinois women’s basketball vs. Nebraska on Sunday, March 3; and men’s basketball vs. Purdue on Tuesday, March 5.

Volunteers will be asked to help educate and encourage fans to recycle their bottles and cans at SFC prior to and during those games, as well as hand-pick recyclables left on floors, seats, and in cupholders after the games. Sign up here: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1852876547. Nitrile gloves and a green volunteer t-shirt will be provided to volunteers.

The Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste initiative is a partnership between Coca-Cola; the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics; the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment; and Facilities & Services. Volunteers collected recyclables at previous basketball and football games in the past two years.

Establishing a university-wide zero waste culture is a top sustainability objective of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP). For more information about general campus waste management (how that works/what is recycled) and iCAP progress, contact Zero Waste Coordinator Daphne Hulse dlhulse2@illinois.edu, 217-333-7550.

https://fs.illinois.edu/News/volunteer-opportunity-fighting-illini-fighting-waste-basketball-events/

Link to article, released on September 24, 2023

As guests returned to Memorial Stadium this afternoon for u of i's home game against florida atlantic university, Facilities and Services Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pushed for a cleaner environment with the help of fans.

It hosted Zero Waste Tailgate to encourage guests to toss bottles, cans, and other recyclable goodsby giving them blue bags and placing a large green dumpster near the stadium.

Zero Waste Coordinator, Daphne Hulse believes those items being provided makes it easier to reduce landfill.

Working at a large scale event like this with high visibility, is a great way not only to engage students, faculty and staff. But also community members that come here for these tailgate events." Hulse said. "Collectively we can work towards reducing that landfilled waste.

The next recycle event will be on November 11th at the stadium for u of i's home game against Indiana University.

From: Hulse, Daphne Lauren
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2023 8:51 AM
To: Etchison, Thurman B <etchisn@illinois.edu>
Subject: Welcome Celebration recycling update

Hi Thurman,

Quick update on the recycling efforts for this coming Friday – good news first: we should have a good turnout of student volunteers for this event.

The complicated news: the 20 Coca-Cola bins did arrive just a few days ago, but they are unfortunately going to require some F&S modifications before they can be put to use. They’re extra sturdy (bolted down to the pallets) which is great for outdoor events, but they do not currently have any openings to put recycling in and dump it out (see picture below). We expect we’ll have to saw open the plastic top, and then they’ll be a useable bin. Coke finished designs on the wrap that will be placed over top of the bins (attached), so they have some messaging on them when we’re ready to put them to use.

As a quick solution, we have 24-26 bottles/cans recycling bins that we can line with blue bags and put to use (picture below). It unfortunately won’t have the great messaging that the Coke bins would have, but we will have the volunteers there to help manage. Not as sturdy as our new bins will be, but I expect better than the bins that were used last year that blew around. F&S will be bringing these over to Lot 31 on Friday when they’re bringing the tables and chairs, so our volunteers can line these with blue bags and place them nearby the trash bins.

Thank you,
Daphne

Daphne Hulse (she/her)
Zero Waste Coordinator
Facilities & Services | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
+1 (217) 333-7550 | dlhulse2@illinois.edu

https://fs.illinois.edu/zero-waste
 


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Attendance: Shawn Patterson, Dan Hiser, Daphne Hulse

1. Overview of the tailgate parking map
   1. Planning to execute two tailgate recycling events this semester:
      1. An early game in September, using one roll-off dumpster in Lot 31.
      2. A later game in October or November, potentially expanding to a second roll-off dumpster in Lot 32 (E-14).
   2. All dumpsters will always be staffed by volunteers. A F&S Safety & Compliance tent will be used for the September game.
   3. All dumpsters used will have banners to identify recycling only, as well as yard signs to discourage them from becoming general trash sites.
   4. Dan noted that Lot 31, Lot 32, Lot 33, and Lot 49 are some of the busiest to keep in mind for the future.
2. Blue bags
   1. DIA parking lot supervisors will hand out blue bags.
   2. F&S will provide the blue bags, with information stapled to each.
   3. What will happen to all the bags left at lots where tailgaters did not drop them off at the roll-off dumpsters?
      1. Blue barrels line all the tailgating lots. They may end up heree.
      2. The F&S frontload truck on Sunday morning pick-up may grab them.
      3. The DIA flat-bed stake truck may pick them up.
      4. In any case, all blue bags will make their way to the south bay of the Waste Transfer Station.
3. Waste operation from Dan's perspective - Sunday morning
   1. 2 frontload trucks (holding 3yd dumpsters) will have two people walking in front, dumping blue barrels
   2. 1 roll-off truck, that goes to dump the 2 roll-offs at the corner of the horseshoe. Places a new empty roll-off on the east side of Memorial Stadium. Tippers inside Memorial Stadium drop off inside trash into the empty roll-off. This process moves to the west side of Memorial Stadium.
   3. Green recycle truck goes with a crew of two people who tip the blue barrels, just as the frontload does (the teams split all the work).
   4. DIA has a flat-bed stake truck used to pick up the blue barrels.
   5. DSC does not work on weekends, so all trash is put into the south bay, and dealt with on Monday morning (in addition to campus' usual trash on Monday). Because of this, not all of the recycling is going to get sorted out. It's too much to deal with at once. They do their best!
4. Grange Grove
   1. 20 Coca-Cola bins placed here, near entrances to Memorial Stadium. Can have volunteers here who are engaging with passers-by and encouraging them to recycle.
   2. Dan, Shawn, and Daphne will see the bins on Friday 8/11 when they are delivered and determine the best course to dumping them when they are full. Don't know how this will happen currently, as these bins are not tied to a truck type that F&S has. May consult the DIA for assistance.