Michigan-Ohio State rivalry now includes who handles trash better

4 days ago 12

When you're portion of 1 of the top rivalries successful sports, Michigan vs. Ohio State, you'll speech trash astir anything, including existent crippled time trash — and who cleans it up better.

Lately, that's been Ohio State, wherever Mary Leciejewski is subordinate manager of biology sustainability.

"I mean, it conscionable comes with the territory," Leciejewski said.

In this competition, armies of volunteers cod and benignant done mountains of trash, separating what's recyclable from what's compostable, similar nutrient scraps and cups, forks and plates that are made to decompose implicit time.

The yearly situation is organized by the Campus Race to Zero Waste program. Campuses nationwide vie each play to spot who tin recycle and compost the astir discarded generated astatine location shot games.

Last season, Ohio State claimed 2 nationalist titles: 1 successful shot and 1 successful trash. The Buckeyes diverted 94% of crippled time discarded distant from the landfill, topping the Wolverines' 79%.

Paul Dunlop, Michigan's subordinate diversion manager for facilities, is inactive arrogant of the connection that stadium sustainability sends to fans.

"I deliberation if we tin bash it for implicit 100,000 people, you tin bash it astatine your house," Dunlop said.

At some schools, students play an important role.

Buckeye Meredith Butt studies ecology, but connected the weekends, she's astatine the stadium educating fans and making definite each the trash is decently sorted.

"So overmuch of what we propulsion distant doesn't request to beryllium thrown away, and it conscionable feels truly rewarding to beryllium a portion of that," Butt said.

At Michigan's field farm, crippled time compost is turned backmost into ungraded that helps turn immoderate of the nutrient served astatine the stadium.

"For me, discarded is simply a precise tangible portion of sustainability. You don't truly spot emissions, but you spot waste, you spot litter connected the floor," said Mia Terek, a Michigan postgraduate pupil studying sustainability.

Leciejewski said she is arrogant of what fans person accomplished.

"It's bully to beryllium champions connected the field, but for us, it's each astir the diversion rate," she said.