New recycling group debuts
Members of Sustain Mizzou with support from the university and other local groups test new program called Tiger Tailgate Recycling.
Published Sept. 13, 2005
Neglected paper advertisements and littered cigarettes are gradually outnumbering people cleaning them up.
A new program, Tiger Tailgate Recycling, has recently emerged to confront the issue.
The recycling program, introduced Saturday at the MU football team's home opener, is student-driven with the help of local groups.
About 40 people will stand around Memorial Stadium this football season wearing green shirts reading 'Green Team,' passing out trash bags to every vehicle, said Darus Love, MU's solid waste and recycling coordinator.
The trash bags then will be distributed to tailgaters three hours before kick-off of each home game.
"We expect to divert as much trash from the landfill as possible and increase littering control," Love said.
Sustain Mizzou adviser Jan Weaver was one of the volunteers handing out these bags to vehicles at Saturday's game.
"The people in the parking lot were enthusiastic and supported the idea, saying things like 'great idea' and 'it's about time,' while giving me thumbs up," Weaver said. "People were pretty positive about the effort."
Sustain Mizzou, a student organization dedicated to environmental issues, runs the program with support from the university, the city of Columbia and N.H. Scheppers Distributing Co., the local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler.
Sustain Mizzou President Jared Cole said the purpose of Tiger Tailgate Recycling is to keep areas litter-free and sanitary.
"Every home game we plan to encourage people to put the waste in the right place," Cole said.
The reason for these trash bags is to help students participate in the recycling process, Cole said.
"When we give them the bags, we're giving them the responsibility to recycle," Cole said. "Not only do we want to increase awareness, but also help them take action."
Weaver said the volunteers would come by and pick them up after the tailgating was finished.
Sustain Mizzou volunteers collected the garbage bags after the game and set up more than 40 bins near the stadium's entrances. This will be done every home game, Cole said.
Weaver said volunteers also collect trash on Sunday morning that was not picked up the night before.
"It was a complete success," Cole said. "One of the biggest things that made it successful was that people were given the opportunity to recycle. They could be responsible and at the same time when they're supposed to be partying. We had one entire roll-off container full of recyclables."
