CCRRA and Penn State Aim to Make Tailgate Recycling and Clean-Up Easy

Penn State football kicks off a new season on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, and that means tens of thousands of fans will be tailgating in the lots and fields around Beaver Stadium.

Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority wants those fans to remember that it’s simple to sort recycling and trash and to keep their tailgate areas clean.

Plastic and glass bottles and metal cans go in blue bags for recycling. Everything else goes in clear bags for trash. Bag dispensers are available in every tailgating field and parking lot.

Full bags should be tied and left at the tailgate spor for Penn State Office of Physical Plant staff and volunteers to pick up on Sunday morning. 

‘Fans are asked to leave their tailgate area cleaner than it was found,’ a CCRRA release said. ‘The fields are multi-use by students, faculty, staff, visitors, as well as agriculture. It is integral for the safety of all users that the fields are clean of debris.’

Penn State’s game day recycling program has been a helpful effort to divert recyclables from the landfill, raise money for the Centre County United Way and serve as a model for other stadiums. But it’s been far from perfect, with many tailgaters over the years failing to heed the relatively simple process of separating trash and recyclables — or cleaning up their tailgates at all.

That came to a head last fall when CCRRA shared photos of recycling bags filled with all manner of non-recyclable trash, as well as trash strewn about tailgate fields. Clear bags go to the landfill, while blue bags go to the recycling center to be sorted. Recycling bags filled with trash causes delays in regular operations, overtime and weekend work, and for the employees who hand-sort, a rather disgusting and time-consuming experience.

Since early last fall, Penn State has amplified the message in communications to fans and once again the athletic department and Sustainability Institute are partnering on a student volunteer corps to help on game days.

Tailgate Ambassadors will be out in the lots and fields every game day reminding tailgaters about recycling and clean-up and handing out bags.

‘Some people don’t realize how much it helps simply by placing garbage and recycling items in the appropriate bag,’ Jillian Barskey, student coordinator for Tailgate Ambassadors said in a university news release. ‘It’s much easier to do this throughout the day instead of waiting until the end. We’re here to help that happen.’