Zero Waste at Michigan Stadium

Zero Waste at Michigan Stadium 2017 Recap

2017 Results

After joining a University of Michigan sustainability initiative in 2015, U-M Athletics reached the industry standard for zero waste with over a 90 percent diversion rate during the Rutgers game. For the season Michigan averaged a diversion rate of 88.17 percent.

Game Day Efforts at Michigan Stadium

New Signage

In the summer of 2017, the U-M athletic department worked with the Office of Campus Sustainability on campus to create new signage that fit the Planet Blue branding staff and students see all across campus.

Compost

Nearly all food and beverage containers were compostable in 2017.

Recycling

Fans once again had the option to purchase souvenir concession items that were recyclable along with water bottles and plastic containers.

The new signage was placed on every waste win and on walls or posts throughout the concourse and inside the stadium suites to help educate fans on where to place their waste items.

A complete list of products and which category they fall under can be found here.

Game Day Efforts

The waste totals for each game were based on waste collected inside the stadium gates only. Waste collected outside the stadium did not factor in to the yearly totals.

Where does the waste go?

Bags of waste are collected throughout the game and taken to dumpsters located in the corners of the stadium. On the Sunday mornings following each home game, a cleanup crew comes in and sorts the remaining waste items in the stadium bowl before it is all hauled off to centers for compost, recycling or landfill.

Sunday Morning Cleanups

Cleanup Crew

Over 400 volunteers from Father Gabriel Richard High School meet at Michigan Stadium. The volunteers check in and collect various items such as leafblowers, rakes, brooms and trash bags to clean the stadium bowl.

Informational tables are set up on the concourse to educate the volunteers on which items are compostable, recyclable or landfill.

Bowl Pick

Volunteers start at the top of the stadium and work their way towards the field. Each row of the 109,901 capacity stadium is cleared with bags being sent to the bottom of each isle

Waste Train

Once the bags are in place at each field gate, the Michigan facilities crew brings in a trash train of dumpsters pulled behind a cart to collect the bags and take them to the parking lot to load into trucks.

Sustainability Benefits

After the Sunday cleanup, the compost is taken to WeCare Danali where it begins the composting process. The recycle bags are taken to the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority.

WeCare Denali

28.53 tons of compostable material was sent to WeCare Denali in 2017, an average of 4.755 tons of compost per game. Over 45 percent of the waste created in Michigan Stadium this year will be resused as a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers.

Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority

Michigan sent 26.71 tons of recyclable material to Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority in 2017, reducing air and water pollution by reducing the need to extract, refine and process raw materials.

Thank you

Michigan Athletics would like to thank its partners, staff and fans for helping the University of Michigan strive for zero waste at Michigan Stadium.

Appreciate