A can of soda. A bottle of water. A game program complete with team rosters.

They’re each a huge part of the experience when you head out on Friday night to catch a high school game. Unfortunately, they almost always end up in a sticky, overflowing trash can when the game is over and the fans are heading home.

Many pro and college sports facilities have recycling bins out front for tailgaters and inside the building, but recycling still isn’t available at the vast majority of high school contests. Most school districts are suffering tightening budgets and have limited resources to deal with what is generally thought of as a “janitorial issue.“

How can parents, coaches, fans and school official’s work together to develop recycling programs for sporting events in a cost-effective manner? It may not be as difficult as you think. Get involved and let your local district know you want to recycle for the home team using one or more of these ideas:

• Find a recycling sponsor. A local organization that funds the purchase of recycling containers and pays to have the collected material sent to a local recycler after each game of the season. Attach the sponsor’s logo and web address on each container to let everyone at the game know who stepped up to help them recycle.
• Get the school clubs involved. The student council, or the sustainability club develop and manage the recycling program for the season using student volunteers to bag up the material and take it to a central storage area for pick-up. If the material has value, the club can even return the material to get the rebate money, or to collect the container deposit refund.
• Try the local scout troop, or the local Junior Achievement chapter. They’re often looking for projects focused on environmental protection, business training and fundraising, so they may be very eager to staff and execute your recycling program in exchange for free passes to the game and the proceeds from the material rebates, or deposit refunds.
• Ask fans to bring a bag to the game and take their recyclables home and pitch them in their curbside-recycling bin. Your recycling sponsor could even pay to have bags made that include their logo. As fans buy their ticket, give them a recycle bag to collect all their plastic, aluminum and clean paper or cardboard and take it home. It’s not only environmentally responsible, but it may save your school some money.
• Get a GreenOps Tracking Station to share among all of your school sports venues throughout the year. Use it to collect recyclables and encourage fans to recycle with Think Green Rewards points and coupons for the concession stand.
• Go to: www.greenopolis.com/egreenu/greenops.

With a little teamwork and creativity, you can bring recycling to the local game without a lot of hassle or cost. Join together to make it happen, so you don’t have leaks in your commitment to recycling and conservation.

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