Some students consider A&M football one of the most important and exciting parts of the Aggie experience. At every home game, over 70,000 fans pile into the stadium.
But, many students dont think about how the state of the stadium after the game.
Ive never thought about how stadium cleanup is handled after the game, said junior telecommunications major Becca Green. It makes you wonder how many students just throw things under the bleachers and dont think twice about it.
With Kyle field being the 13th largest stadium in the NCAA and seating up to 80,000 fans, a vast amount of waste is generated during every game.
The Environmental Issues Committee of SGA began a voluntary recycling program, called Kyle Field Recycling, in 2004. This program is comprised of a group of students who are responsible for increasing the sustainability of Kyle Field and other athletic facilities.
Kyle Field Recycling, to me, exemplifies what it is to be an Aggie, said KFR manager Michael Brown. Its a selfless, student-run event where Aggies get to work alongside their fellow students in a humbling and gratifying task.
In 2006, Coca-Cola donated 50 plastic recycling bins to EIC. After the first few games, EIC rented a truck to take the bottles to a recycling center in Houston.
Soon after, EIC became aware that Texas Commercial Waste in Bryan recycled plastic bottles. They soon partnered with TCW who dropped off a large receptacle after each home game for the collected bottles and would pick the receptacle up the next day.
At the beginning of the 2012 season, EIC partnered with Brazos Valley Recycling.
BVR donated one hundred recycling bins that were dispersed throughout Kyle Field to aid in the cleanup process. After cleanup, the recycled items are transported to the Brazos Valley facility in College Station.
At 7 a.m., every Sunday morning following a home game, the KFR committee and various other student organizations collect plastic bottles to be recycled. These bottles have to be collected by hand from each deck.
Various student organizations on campus take part by volunteering to help pick up and recycle waste after each game.
1Love is a group that has helped out a lot this year, said senior EIC chair Amanda Cernobich.
By the end of every football season, the committee recycles over 150,000 plastic bottles and saves the university thousands of dollars in cleanup costs.
This season, after the first game, KFR recycled 9.6 tons of waste. The second game, they recycled 12.29 tons.
Before this year, the most recycled in an entire season was 11 tons, said volunteer and senior biological and agricultural engineering major Cole Skinner.
Cleanup dates for this season are Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
For student organizations that would like to volunteer in the cleanup process, contact [email protected].
As an Aggie event, its run in the spirit of supporting our community and the traditions which make A&M so great, Brown said.