UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Each home football game generates a lot of community building, fun — and waste. Though A-frames that hold clear bags for waste and blue bags for recycling empty bottles and cans are placed throughout tailgate lots, they do not reduce the amount that comes in or ensure recycling is done properly.
On average, 77 tons of waste is generated at each game, including trash and recycling both inside and outside the stadium. Of the 70,760 pounds, or 35.38 tons, of blue bags collected from the tailgate lots after the first four home games, 58.4% was successfully recycled. Ayo Oluwalana, Penn State’s waste reduction and recycling program manager, aims to increase that rate. “Getting it to 75% at the end of the season is what I'm hoping for,” he said.
The good news is that all fans can contribute to this goal, and that a group of students called Tailgate Ambassadors, supported by Penn State Sustainability, the Office of Physical Plant, and Pepsi, are working to make a difference. This partnership is incentivizing fans to learn about game-day recycling — and offering prizes to those who do.
Tailgate Ambassadors visit the football tailgating lots on game days. Over the first four home games, the students have engaged with over 1,000 tailgate groups. They welcome guests, pass out trash and recycling bags, and educate fans on how to use them.
For example, they emphasize the importance of placing empty bottles and cans in recycling containers. Because the University is charged for the weight of liquid that remains in disposal bags, emphasizing empty-only containers reduces costs and reduces the strain on the waste management crews.
“The Tailgate Ambassadors are a hardworking and high-energy group,” said Krista Bailey, Penn State Sustainability’s associate director for campus sustainability. “They arrive on game days before the lots open to get ready to greet fans and provide them with information about recycling and other help they might need. They’ve helped set up tents and have been great Penn State role models — friendly, informed and helpful.”
The response from Penn State fans has been positive.
“Fans are asking us for bags to recycle and appreciate not having to walk to the A-frames,” said Tailgate Ambassador Sofia Khatiwada.
“The fans are so friendly!” added Tailgate Ambassador, Dave Gummalam. “They tell us ‘Thanks for what you are doing’ and when they see us coming, they say, ‘Oh, look: the Tailgate Ambassadors!’”
While talking with fans, the pairs of Ambassadors in each lot nominate tailgate groups for a Pepsi’s "Recycling Tailgate of the Game" award. Fans who know what to recycle, how to recycle, and are enthusiastically recycling are nominated. One group is chosen as the winner for each game.
In addition to connecting with fans on game days, the Tailgate Ambassadors host a tent on the lawn outside of Medlar Field across from the student entrance to Beaver Stadium. Supported by Penn State’s pouring rights contract with Pepsi, the Ambassadors engage fans with a "Score for Swag" contest. Fans can send an empty plastic bottle or aluminum can over the goal posts and into a blue recycling bag to win a prize.
All Penn State fans are invited to enter to win the grand prize by simply turning in a picture of themselves properly recycling at a game — at a tailgate, at the Tailgate Ambassadors tent, or inside or around the stadium. Entries can be made at this link.
Another area of impact for the Tailgate Ambassadors is the ever-popular shakers, which are all made up of two kinds of plastic and are often left behind in the stadium, parking lots and along roadsides. Shakers have been collected at the end of each game in partnership with the Alumni Association and Blue & White Society, which distributes them.
To date, more than 11,000 shakers have been collected. Approximately 90% of those were able to be reused, and the rest can be recycled. After discussions with the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority (CCRRA), the CCRRA identified a company in Virginia, Trex, that will accept the shakers to process and turn into recycled plastic lumber for benches.
By rethinking how we use single-use plastic items such as shakers, the Tailgate Ambassadors program shows how Penn State can identify opportunities to better serve campus and community as part of its land-grant mission through effective and efficient resource stewardship.
The Tailgate Ambassador program was reimagined and relaunched this fall by OPP’s senior waste reduction intern Michael Spinelli and Penn State Sustainability’s engagement intern Ashley Currey. Hands-on experience with real-world sustainability challenges such as event recycling is central to this co-curricular experience that serves to align students’ passions, aptitudes, and ambitions to lead them to successful next steps.
Student organizations seeking volunteer hours are welcome and encouraged to participate in any or all these impactful activities. Those seeking volunteer hours for THON fundraising are encouraged to inquire about when a group of 5 or more students can serve 4 hours on a game day by contacting Krista Bailey, associate director for campus sustainability, at kbailey@psu.edu. Follow the Tailgate Ambassadors on Instagram @TailgateAmbassadors to see recycling awards for each game, access the prize entry form and see what the group does each game.