How you can stay sustainable on game days

The Big Blue Recycling Crew
The Big Blue Recycling Crew

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 15, 2023) — University of Kentucky Recycling and Athletics need your help to make Kroger Field a zero-waste facility by 2030 — meaning 90% of all waste will no longer be sent to the landfill.

Here are ways you can contribute:

  • The Big Blue Recycling Crew makes reducing your waste easy and fun for your whole tailgate crew. When you are tailgating, you should receive a tailgating kit from the parking attendant and/or a Big Blue Recycling Crew member. This kit includes a clear bag for recyclable materials and a black bag for landfill materials. Not sure what’s considered recyclable and what’s not? The Big Blue Recycling Crew has you covered! Included in the kit is an infographic of what can be recycled and what is considered landfill. 
  • At football games, concentrate on recycling glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, jugs, aluminum foil and pans and empty boxes like pizza boxes. 
  • Along with the efforts of the Big Blue Recycling Crew, you can find large blue dumpsters specifically for recycling around the parking lot area as well as inside the stadium. Additionally, as you get closer to the stadium, you will find big blue containers that are dedicated to recyclable materials. Did you know? All blue waste containers at UK are for recycling!

“Help us help UK Athletics,” said Ryan Lark, UK’s waste reduction specialist. “Each water bottle, beer can and pizza box you recycle at your tailgate or inside the stadium brings us one step closer to reaching our goal of making Kroger Field a zero-waste facility.”

For more information about what is recyclable at UK and UK football games, visit www.uky.edu/facilities/cppd/services/facilities-services/recycling/what-is-recyclable.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.