Game Days
As part of an effort to increase waste diversion in our stadiums, UW Athletics Sustainability always has a strong presence at Husky football games. Here, with the help of our Team Green, we are tasked with educating Husky fans on the proper way of sorting their waste. After all, compostable materials are only environmentally conscious if they make it into a compost can. We also have a presence at nearly every other sport throughout the year. Check out our “Make a Difference” page to learn how to be a part of Team Green and make a difference!
Waste Diversion
Most of the material a person throws away does not need to go to the landfill. Any time material is reused, recycled, or composted instead, it's called waste diversion. The athletic department continually strives to increase waste diversion at our facilities through education and waste sorting.
During the 2018 football season, 75% of all waste in Husky Stadium was diverted from the landfill, and either recycled or composted. This was a huge milestone towards our goal of zero waste. Unfortunately, post Covid-19, this regressed to a diversion rate of 64% in 2022, 48% in 2023, and a mere 33.5% in 2024. Much of this is not due to a failure of proper sorting, rather the criteria to consider materials “recyclable” or “compostable” has gotten stricter. This is in an effort to ensure efficiency in recycling and composting centers and make sure that garbage does not end up in these places.
This year we discovered that the root cause of our poor numbers is due to a lack of properly compostable or recyclable materials being given to our fans. Our goal for the 2025 football season is to fully engage our concessions partners and vendors to reduce contamination possibilities in our waste streams and return waste diversion numbers to their peak. In the future, our goal is to continue striving for increased waste diversion rates and furthering sustainable education.
