Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Friday, April 19, 2024
The Observer

Champion recycling

To my sleep-deprived, "All I Want For Christmas is You"-singing, HeIsManti-voting, fellow students:
I'm so sorry for bringing this up, but finals week is approaching. This is about the time we start to wonder what we did with our lives during the rest of the semester and reprioritize our schedules.
So, obviously, our first priority remains reading articles on Notre Dame football, memorizing the lyrics to "Miami" and watching as many highlight reels as we can. After all, how often do we get to see pictures of Mark May wearing a leprechaun costume or Rick Reilly polishing helmets?  
In this article though, instead of celebrating our team, I would like to celebrate all of you and your tailgating skills. More specifically, your recycling skills were pretty great.
At the BYU game, you all hit a diversion rate of more than 53 percent, and your average throughout the season was about 41 percent. While I'm extremely proud of you all, we could be doing a wee bit better. On average, we generated about 1.3 pounds of trash per person in attendance.
Before you get defensive, I realize there are some people who come to tailgate who don't end up going to the game, and I realize that you can't control the actions of others who may or may not be able to identify blue bags from white.  
Surprisingly, during the University of Michigan game, we managed to recycle the most - 25 tons.
On the other hand, we also generated the most trash - 1.8 pounds per person. While I know it's a little late in the year to be giving out green tailgating advice, we still have Miami.
I don't know what the tailgating scene will be looking like, but I'm asking that you try, just try, to find a blue bag or a recycling container.
We have a reputation for being classy, and we can't let South Beach get the best of us.
See you all on Jan. 7,
The GreenMan

Email your predicaments to The GreenMan at
askthegreenman@gmail.com and let him answer you with a sustainable twist. The GreenMan will be here every other week to provide you with insights you never knew you were missing out on until now.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.


The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.