Michigan Diverts 88.17 Percent of its Waste in 2017
12/13/2017 9:00:00 AM | Football, Sustainability
• Read More: Zero Waste at Michigan Stadium
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The first year Michigan Athletics strived towards zero waste in Michigan Stadium resulted in 88.17 percent of the total waste created inside the stadium being diverted to compost and recycling.
"Zero Waste in the major-events industry is typically defined as diverting at least 90 percent of the waste away from landfill," said Paul Dunlop, Michigan's Senior Facilities Manager for Michigan Stadium and the Crisler Center. "It's an aspirational goal that we are striving to attain, not necessarily an operational standard. I am very pleased with the overall diversion rate of 88.7% in our first year. I'm hopeful we can consistently reach the 90% diversion goal next year with further planning and a few tweaks to our operations."
Michigan Athletics sent compostable items to a compost facility, WeCare Danali, for the first time in 2017. After six home games, U-M sent a total of 28.53 tons of waste to be composted, over 45 percent of the total waste created in the stadium. Michigan also sent 26.71 tons to the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority, leaving 7.41 tons of waste to go to landfill.
"I'd like to thank the many internal and external partners who helped make the zero waste initiative a success, including Sodexo, WeCare Denali, JNS, the Office of Campus Sustainability and the Waste Management Department," said Dunlop. "I believe the cooperative relationships with various suppliers and partners who help run gamedays at Michigan Stadium were a big part of our success in year one."
Michigan Athletics will continue to support the University of Michigan's sustainability initiatives and continue to strive for zero waste in Michigan Stadium.
For more information on the zero waste in Michigan stadium click on our photo story.
For information on the University of Michigan's sustainability goals visit http://sustainability.umich.edu/
