For those of you that don’t know, “Project Crunchtime” is a gameday-recycling initiative in the Grove, Circle, and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium that takes place on Ole Miss football Saturdays. This initiative developed out of the Green Grove Initiative, and the 2009 football season marked the first full year of implementation. Looking back, the first year of “Project Crunchtime” was successful. However, there could be many improvements to the program, which would be aimed at more effective, more efficient, and most importantly, more sustainable tailgating.
First of all let’s look at the positives associated with “Project Crunchtime;” in five gameday recycling efforts 46 individuals volunteered to help with education and outreach. “Project Crunchtime” would not be possible without volunteer support. In the 2009 season, we sorted and recycled 1.8 tons of waste that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. This waste included 1,219 lbs of #1 and #2 plastics and 2,409 lbs of aluminum cans. As the season progressed, so did the amount of recyclables we collected. In the final two home games, we collected 703 lbs of recyclables respectively. Lastly, the University of Mississippi has the most complex and advanced gameday-recycling program in the state of Mississippi. This is an excellent start, and we are extremely proud of this accomplishment. However, we would like to not only be a leader in the state of Mississippi but also the SEC and eventually the entire nation. To do so, we must make some fundamental changes to our gameday-recycling program.
For “Project Crunchtime” to continue to evolve, in 2010 it is imperative that we see an increase in student engagement and participation. Volunteers are the backbone of this program because they provide the necessary education and outreach to other tailgaters about more sustainable tailgating practices. We also have to see increased participation from alumni, as they are just as instrumental in the volunteering aspect of “Project Crunchtime.” Another area that needs significant growth for “Project Crunchtime” to continue is more involvement with public relations. “Project Crunchtime” is trying to change a culture to a more sustainable tailgating culture here at Ole Miss without changing those gameday traditions that we all love so much. We need to harness the power of the media, as we all know that the media is one of the greatest facilitators of information in this day in age. Lastly, for “Project Crunchtime” to be a success in 2010 we will have to see an extreme improvement in recycling inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. In 2009 this was basically nonexistent. In fact, out of the 7 home football games in 2009, we were not able to sort any recyclable materials collected inside of the stadium. This was mainly due to the fact that our recycling containers inside the stadium were contaminated with food, drink, or materials that could not be recycled and should not have been placed in the bin. For this to improve in 2010, athletics must become more involved in the gameday recycling process.
Moving forward, the Office of Campus Sustainability is extremely excited about the future of “Project Crunchtime.” The sky is literally the limit on how far this program can go. Besides the fact that we are doing the right thing for our environment and our future by recycling, we are also saving the University of Mississippi money. In fact, it has been estimated that just making these few subtle changes to our already expanding gameday-recycling program could save the University of Mississippi $75,000 in waste management costs. There you go UM, you’ve got the numbers and you’ve got the facts. We certainly know you can talk the talk; however, the unanswered question is: can you walk the walk as well?
Elliott Warren, GSIP Intern, Junior Public Policy and Leadership Major
