RESTON, Va. — Five universities have been named winners in the 2023 Campus Race to Zero Waste GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge, offering a blueprint to peers looking to reduce waste and improve sustainability on their own campuses.

The GameDay Football Challenge hosted 54 participating colleges and universities aiming to reduce and recycle the waste generated at college football games. The competition honors schools in four categories: recycling, food organics, waste minimization and outdoor cleanup.

“We thank all universities who participated in this year’s challenge and commend the winners for their leadership on waste reduction,” said Kristy Jones, director of higher education programs at the National Wildlife Federation. “Their efforts show that large sporting events can be held while ensuring sustainability remains top of mind.”

“I’m blown away by the success of these schools,” said Stacy Wheeler, cofounder and president of Campus Race to Zero Waste. “College football games are an unparalleled opportunity to promote and educate communities on the importance of waste reduction. With waste management efforts growing on campuses across the country, we encourage other universities to follow in these schools’ footsteps.”

The winners for each category include: 

Recycling

• University of Colorado Boulder: 17,295 lbs of recycled waste

Food Organics

• University of Minnesota: 7,996 lbs of food organics recovered and diverted from the landfill
  

Waste Minimization

• Grand Valley State University: Reduced food organic waste and trash by 852 lbs

Outdoor Cleanup

• Joint Winners Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee Knoxville: 15,445 lbs of trash cleaned up outdoors combined between the two schools

To enter, schools submitted data from one home game with entries being judged per capita to account for different attendance numbers. For more details on the Gameday Football Challenge, visit the website here.

About the Campus Race to Zero Waste Program

The Campus Race to Zero Waste program, governed by Recyclemania, Inc. in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, is the nation’s premier recycling and waste reduction initiative on college campuses. Through friendly competition, the program aims to encourage and support universities aiming to improve their waste reduction practices.