Pac-12 Announces Zero Waste Competition Winners

The Pac-12 has announced the winners of its Zero Waste Competition, which challenges Pac-12 universities to divert waste from landfill at a selected football and men’s basketball game and to expand the reach and impact of their sustainability education efforts. In January, the Pac-12 announced the winners for this year’s football season, and now it’s announced the winners for the basketball season.

The universities were judged on participation and partnerships, stadium diversion rate and innovation credit, and the judging panel was comprised of Bill Walton, Pac-12 representative, basketball legend and sustainability enthusiast; Tyler Sytsma, sustainability coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and Mike Carey, sustainability coordinator at the Orange Coast College (zero waste/diversion expert).

“Congratulations to the Pac12 - Conference of Champions - on yet another fantastic accomplishment in the biggest game of all—life! We certainly distinguished ourselves in the drive to achieve a sustainable lifestyle so that we can achieve the most important goal ever, to keep this all going,” said Walton in a statement. “All of our member schools have terrific sustainability programs and departments, setting us far on this most important front. Particular note must be pointed out for the excellent presentations and submissions from overall winner, California.”

Zero Waste Competition Winners:

2018 Basketball Zero Waste Competition Winner: California (vs. Washington State, February 24, 2018)

California achieved a 95.7 percent gameday diversion rate. The theme for the day centered around zero waste and sustainability, with an emphasis on reuse. Local elementary school students volunteered to “trash talk” with fans at the game, and other volunteers helped fans to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost. Fans were also encouraged to donate used clothing in exchange for a repurposed California t-shirt.

Fan Engagement: Arizona — Student-run campaign

Since 2015, Arizona has grown its program to engage the campus community and city of Tucson. The zero waste program is almost entirely run by impassioned student activists across several campus sustainability groups, including UA Green Team and Greening the Game. The student groups decided to adopt the entirety of the 2017-18 men’s basketball season. Students took over greater leadership roles to implement zero waste efforts, which resulted in 27,580 pounds of recycling, 18,140 pounds of composting and 30,900 pounds of landfill materials for a full-season diversion rate of 59.7 percent.

Special Recognition for Exemplary Effort: Arizona State University (vs. University of Southern California, February 8, 2018)

Fans had the opportunity to win a zero waste swag bag. In order to participate, they had to take a picture or video of themselves recycling at the Green Game on Snapchat and use the unique geofilter that was made for the game. The university also hosted a sustainability expo, providing fans an opportunity to engage with sustainability representatives as well as to promote the university’s sustainability initiatives. The high-profile nature of the expo helped to increase the exposure of zero waste and other sustainability initiatives at the university. During the game, the 942 Crew student fan group dressed as the “bag monster” for the curtain of distraction.

Student-Athlete Engagement: Stanford University — Student-Athlete Video

A Cardinal field hockey student-athlete led her teammates to create promotional videos related to waste and recycling that showed the teammates juggling water bottles on their field hockey sticks and “scoring” by getting the water bottle in the recycling bin. The Office of Sustainability was able to use these videos to promote recycling and composting at the game by posting them to its social media channels.