Green Sports Day: UVA

UVA took third nationwide in the total recycling category while coming in 10th nationwide in the total diversion category. Overall, fans, student volunteers and UVA staffers halved the amount of waste headed to the landfill compared to last year’s challenge results.” Last year the Cavaliers diverted 54.6% of waste from landfills and this year they improved over 20%, increasing the diversion rate to 76.7%!https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-scores-footballs-gameday-recycling-challenge

Last basketball season, UVA sustainability volunteers got creative at the 2018 GameDay Recycling Challenge, diverting 87% of waste from landfills while keeping our (foam) fingers clean! After the game, student volunteers collected hundreds of Aetna foam fingers that got left behind. The foam fingers were then boxed up and returned for use at future sporting events.https://sustainability.virginia.edu/topics/civicengagement/recyclemania.html

This past spring, UVA sustainability worked with Aramark and Facilities Management to coordinate the first-ever waste audit at a home baseball game. During the home game against UNC, the waste audit provided promising results recording a diversion rate of 89.23%! Information gathered from this audit will be used this upcoming season in an attempt to have a Zero-Waste Baseball Season.

This past Sunday (9/20), UVA sustainability worked with Facilities Management to carry out the first waste-audit at a woman's soccer match and it is safe to say the Cavaliers got in done both on and off the pitch. During a 5-1 win over Wake Forest, the waste audit proved the event to be Zero-Waste, having a diversion rate of 90.98%. Another waste audit will be carried out on Tuesdays (10/2) home men’s soccer match against Wright State. We hope to use this information in an attempt to make the rest of the soccer season go zero waste.