The GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge is a nationwide competition among colleges and universities to reduce and recycle the waste generated at home football games.
Using equitable, just, and friendly competition, the GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge provides tools and opportunities that inspire, empower, and mobilize colleges and universities to benchmark and improve efforts to reduce and eliminate waste at home football games. As part of the Campus Race to Zero Waste program, GameDay Football challenges campuses nationwide to reduce the waste footprint of their home games and tailgating events through efforts including reduction of single-use plastics use, food waste recovery, use of reusable products, recycling, and more.
2023 Winners:
- University of Colorado Boulder – Recycling Per Capita Category
- University of Minnesota – Food Organics Per Capita Category
- Grand Valley State University – Waste Minimization Per Capita Category
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Georgia Institute of Technology – Outdoor Events Cleanup Category
2023 GameDay Zero Waste Touchdown Final Report
2023 Challenge Guidelines and Rules:
- Choose one home football game to track and report your recycling, food organics, and trash data in pounds.
- Four categories will be available to participate in (campuses can participate in one or more of these categories):
- Recycling Per Capita (track and report on cans/bottles, paper and cardboard)
- Waste Minimization Per Capita (track and report on trash, recycling and food organics)
- Food Organics Per Capita (track and report on organics donated, reused or composted)
- Outdoor Clean-Up Events (If you are hosting a clean-up after your gameday tailgating events, your clean-up will be submitted to the Clean Earth Challenge, so please track the amount of trash that is collected)
- Winners will be chosen in each of the four categories:
- Recycling Per Capita – highest generation of recyclables per capita
- Waste Minimization Per Capita – lowest generation of waste per capita
- Food Organics Per Capita – highest generation of food organics per capita
- Outdoor Clean-Up Events – one winner based on the highest number of pieces of trash removed from the environment
2023 Reporting:
Final reporting for GameDay Football events will be due on December 8, 2023. Campuses will be asked to report on the following: total waste in pounds, date of game, arena, opponent, total attendees, etc. Winning campuses will be featured on the website, and via email and social media. The 2023 GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge report will be available by the end of October.
Sign-up to Participate in GameDay Football 2023
Report on your home football game
2023 Key Dates and Deadlines for the GameDay Football Challenge:
- Last day to register for the GameDay Challenge – Monday, November 13, 2023
- Last day to hold GameDay Event – Saturday, November 25, 2023
- Deadline to report ALL data – Friday, December 8, 2023
- Winners announced! Wednesday, January 24, 2024
- Winners will be chosen in each of the four categories:
- Recycling Per Capita – highest generation of recyclables per capita
- Waste Minimization Per Capita – lowest generation of waste per capita
- Food Organics Per Capita – highest generation of food organics per capita
Outdoor Clean-Up Events – three winners will be recognized based on the amount of trash removed from the environment.
Congratulations to the 2022 Winners:
- Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina – Waste Minimization Per Capita (lowest generation of waste per capita)
- Recycling Per Capita – Stanford University, California (highest generation of recyclables per capita)
- Food Organics Per Capita – Lafayette College, Pennsylvania (highest generation of food organics per capita)
GameDay Football Zero Waste Touchdown Challenge Final Report (school participants, total amount diverted, recycled, and donated).