The Blue Zone went green for the first time Saturday.
The food waste from UNC’s Blue Zone was collected and composted after the homecoming football game as part of a national recycling competition.
The Game Day Challenge is an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for universities across the country.
UNC placed 22nd out of 74 schools last year in the waste reduction category, but organizers said they hope to score better this year when the results are tallied at the end of the season.
Last year, the focus of the challenge was on composting all of the lemons used to make lemonade during the football game, said Natalia Posthill, recycling coordinator for UNC’s Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling.
“We were able to divert 2,000 pounds of lemons from the landfills,” Posthill said.
This year, UNC focused on composting all of the food waste for the Blue Zone, which prepared food for more than 7,000 attendees Saturday, she said.
“Each school takes one home football game to focus on waste reduction,” Posthill said.
Composting is also utilized at other campus locations. Carolina Dining Services estimates that it composted 380 tons of food waste in the 2010 fiscal year.
The practice of composting lemons has continued at Kenan Stadium since the kickoff at last year’s challenge, Posthill said.
