Celebrating win streaks and sustainability: Recycling with the Redhawks

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, Miami University students funneled in from the cold and packed Millett Hall wearing Miami gear, pajama pants and even speedos and swim caps to watch the RedHawks take on the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.

Sponsored by Rumpke in partnership with Miami’s Office of Sustainability, the close game for the RedHawks brought attention to both the team’s 21-game win streak and local waste reduction efforts. The audience of over 9,000 fans made for the 10th largest night in Millett history. The game was also picked up by ESPNU, bringing national attention to the program.

“We just wanted to take the opportunity to talk to the student body about the importance of recycling and managing their waste correctly … and we are really excited that we had such an awesome turnout for a recycling themed basketball game,” said Olivia Herron, Miami’s director of sustainability.

Outreach included tabling opportunities for local community organizations, businesses and clubs interested in promoting sustainability by sharing flyers, information and free goodies. Volunteers and sponsors were recognized on court at the beginning of the game.

Student Body President Daniel Martin also took to the court to face off against Vice President Kirsten Osteboe in a recycling-themed challenge. The two were given posters with different waste items on them – such as food, plastics and boxes – to sort into either trash, compost or recycling.

Martin took the win, sorting the most items correctly in the time given. He said he enjoyed the experience and learned a lot along the way, like that there are compost options for food and that not all plastics, such as certain wrap coverings, are recyclable.

“I felt like I learned a lot of new things,” Martin said. “... if I can do it, everyone can do it.”

Herron said she was happy to have student leaders on the court participating and encouraging proper waste reduction.

“It was a great opportunity,” Herron said.

Media timeouts featured additional information about local waste reduction and sustainability, such as updates on solar and geothermal energy at Miami and encouragement to recycle batteries on campus.

After fans left the stadium celebrating a RedHawk win, the waste produced during the game was collected to conduct an audit in hopes of gauging how much waste was produced and how accurately fans disposed of it.

“It will be super helpful to be able to measure exactly how well fans are following the recycling rules, putting the correct things in the bin” Herron said.

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The effort was led by the Office of Sustainability the following afternoon, with the goal of identifying weak points and improving waste management going forward. The large turnout the night before resulted in a corresponding large turnout of waste and recyclables.

“[We] had far more to do than we had anticipated from the waste perspective,” student Sustainability Coordinator Alex Miller said in an email to The Miami Student.

The data from the sorted waste will be processed in the coming week, giving a glimpse into how much waste a historic crowd produced, and how much it was able to divert from the landfill. Results from the audit will be published in a follow-up story.

kennelse@miamioh.edu