FAYETTEVILLE – Not only are the Razorbacks looking to score big on the football field this Saturday in a matchup of top 10 nationally ranked teams at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, but they are also aiming to climb the rankings in the 2011 Environmental Protection Agency’s Game Day Challenge. The Game Day Challenge is a competition involving 83 colleges and universities to promote waste reduction at their football games.

The University of Arkansas will be competing in the competition in conjunction with Saturday’s game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Kickoff at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium is set for 6:15 p.m. CT.

To continue the Razorbacks’ trend of success, fans and tailgaters are encouraged to throw their recyclable waste in recycle bins located in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, as well as parking lots and tailgating areas on campus. Efforts will help Razorback Athletics in the 2011 Game Day Challenge and further support the University of Arkansas recycling and sustainability programs. 

This will be the second year that the University of Arkansas has competed in the challenge that encourages students and fans to go “green” and recycle waste during a selected football game.  Schools track and report waste reductions and disposal data that is used to rank the schools in five categories including: least amount of waste generated, highest recycling rate, greatest greenhouse gas reductions, and highest organic reduction rate and highest diversion rate (a combination of trash, recycling, and composting data). Schools report their data to the EPA and the winning schools are announced later this month.

“Razorback Athletics is proud to once again take part in the EPA Game Day Challenge,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “Our hope is that by participating in this event, we will raise awareness and increase participation in our waste reduction programs. We are always looking for additional ways to employ further sustainability initiatives. We are asking all Razorback fans to help us reduce waste by depositing recycling items in the appropriate green bins located in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, in parking lots and tailgating areas throughout campus.” 

In last year’s competition held during the 2010 Arkansas-Ole Miss football game, the Razorbacks had a commanding presence in the Southeastern Conference.  Within the SEC, Arkansas ranked fifth in waste generation with .59 pounds of waste generated per person, first in the diversion rate category with 50.69 percent, and second in the greenhouse gas reduction and recycling category. The Razorbacks’ ranking was even more impressive considering the Ole Miss game last season was delayed multiple times for heavy rain and lightning furthering limiting the ability for conversion of recyclable materials.

After three home games this season, Razorback Athletics has recycled 136.51 tons out of the 267.52 tons of waste collected.  Of the three games, the most waste was collected during the Arkansas-Auburn game on October 18, with 15.82 tons of waste collected and 12.24 tons recycled.

Through initiatives like the 2011 Game Day Challenge, the EPA hopes to lower the amount of waste generated at college football games, heighten awareness of waste reduction programs on college campuses and increase participation by the community in waste reduction programs.