With the Ragin’ Cajuns home opener, UL is launching a new composting initiative and they’re using football as a way to model sustainability.
Tailgaters outside Cajun Field and fans inside the stadium produce a lot of trash.
“On average we produce about 10.3 tons of material per football game,” said UL Director of Sustainability Gretchen Vanicor.
They’re expected to produce even more about fifteen tons, this Saturday for the season opener against Grambling State.
“Football games, baseball games, all of the above games, and [they] wonder, ‘what do I do with this stuff?’ Where’s the recycling and compost bin?” Sustainability Coordinator, Monica Rowand said.
Trash cans inside Cajun Field have been removed making way for stations with red bins for recycling and black bins for compost.
“Because we’re bringing all of the food waste and compostable containers to Cade Farms, where our researchers will be composting it, we don’t have to pay tipping fees at the landfills,” Vanicor said.
The stadium will serve food on biodegradable plates instead of plastic.
“So, we’re switching this year to this eco-paper. Eco-craft paper which is compostable. A hundred percent compostable, “ said Sustainability Coordinator Monica Rowand.
Recyclable materials collected inside the stadium will be sent to a processing and recovery facility.
Making UL the first football stadium in Louisiana to move towards zero waste.
