CLEMSON, S.C. — With 98,521 pounds of waste recycled, composted or donated, Clemson University was named national champion in total recycling as part of the 2017 GameDay Recycling Challenge (GDRC). It marked the second time in the last four seasons Clemson won the total recycling category with the win in 2014 and second-place finishes in 2015 and 2016. The GDRC is produced through a partnership of the College and University Recycling Coalition, Keep America Beautiful, RecycleMania Inc. and the U.S. Environment Protection Agency.
“Clemson set the bar high with last year’s GameDay Recycling Challenge, so beating our 2016 numbers was both challenging and exciting,” said Dave Vandeventer, recycling manager for the university. “Participating in the competition is a way to push ourselves, and we are proud of how we improved upon last year’s system. We were able to decrease our labor hours and still increase our recycling rate. We would not have been able to achieve our GameDay recycling goals without the hard work of our recycling team and the support from the Clemson community.”
The challenge pitted 70 colleges and universities in a fun and friendly competition to engage college football fans in an initiative to see who could recycle or reduce the most waste. Participating schools recycled or composted nearly two million pounds of waste during the 2017 season. University of Arkansas, University of Virginia, Louisiana State University and University of Texas rounded out the top five for 2017.
“We are proud of our university, athletics department, IPTAY donors and fans for a continued commitment to a first-class, responsible football gameday environment,” said Dan Radakovich, Clemson’s director of athletics. “This is documented proof of the hard work done by Dave Vandeventer and our recycling team.
–Philip Sikes, Clemson University
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