Staying Green During Football Season

With football just under a week away, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some tips I found for gamedays.  One of the easiest ways to conserve is to try ‘greening’ your tailgate a bit.  Here are a few simple ideas I have that will help you create less of an environmental impact this upcoming football season:

1. Try switching from charcoal to propane.  Although it’s a fossil fuel, burning propane is still the least detrimental to the environment when considering the alternatives, because it burns much cleaner and leaves behind less waste than charcoal or wood.  If you really feel the need to stay true to charcoal, try using a brand that focuses on being a cleaner.  Greenlinks’ All Natural Briquettes are a good example of this.

2. Try limiting the meat you eat during your tailgating.  Meat is one of those foods that are very resource consuming.  From the food the cows eat to the transportation and cooling of the meats, every aspect requires a lot of energy, resources, and time.  Try using Boca Burgers instead of hamburgers, these provide a tasty and ‘greener’ alternative to beef.  If you’re still in a more carnivorous mood, try to find meat from local farms like Black Earth Meats or other distributors.

3. Try to limit the amount of disposables you use.  A huge part of tailgating trash comes from plates and cutlery that are simply thrown away after 1 use.  One way to combat this is to designate dishes and utensils for the whole season; after a game, pack up your dishes and wash them when you get back home, this also saves money because you aren’t purchasing more plates each week.  If you still want to use disposable dishes, look for compostable items which are made with bioresin and are less detrimental to the environment.

4. Finally, bring bags designated for recycling.  There will always be waste, but you can diminish the amount that ends up in a landfill if you take the time to sort out what items can be recycled.  Cans and cups can both be recycled and if you have a easy location to put all the recyclables, you are much more likely to use it.

These are just some very general tips to help anyone looking tread a little more softly during game days.  None of these tasks require much extra work and together, they can drastically improve the quality of your tailgate by creating less waste.

I’m certainly looking forward to another great Badger football season, and I hope you are too!

Thanks,

EnAct Intern Adam

Moving Days are here

It’s that time of year again, leases have ended and the streets around the Madison campus will soon be filled with furniture and household items.  This is a great time to explore your neighborhoods and search for interesting additions to your home.  I know last year, I found a nice mirror as well as a some abstract pieces of artwork that are now on display in my home. The middle of August also marks a time when many usable goods are labeled as waste and make their way to landfills.

The city of Madison is trying to work with outside organizations this year to help limit the amount of refuse that gets taken to the dumps.  A large number of drop off sites have been created to collect usable goods.  The UW-Madison Office of Sustainability, ReThink Wisconsin, and WE Conserve have also created a ‘Donate and Take’ event that hopes to become kind of like a free market, where students can drop off unneeded goods and peruse for free additions to their homes.  More information on the event can be found here.

With the increased waste, comes more rules to follow which will hopefully make the moving days a smoother process for waste pickup; the streets division will be out every day between Monday August 13 and Friday August 17.  The city of Madison has compiled this short list of guidelines to help with trash pickup:

• Do NOT put trash in cardboard boxes. Boxes must be flattened and bundled for recycling.
• Keep refuse and large items separate when placed at the curb.
• Nothing but recycling in your green recycling cart. Do not put recycling in your tan refuse cart.
• Put all recycling at the curb in the green recycling cart or clear plastic bags. No loose piles of recycling.
• Do Not Take The Recycling or Refuse Carts. The Carts belong to the City and must remain behind when you move. There will be carts at your new apartment if you will be using City recycling services.
• Do not pile bagged trash or large items around your recycling or refuse carts.
• Put all refuse at the curb in your tan refuse cart or trash bags. No loose piles of trash/garbage.
• Do not pile bagged trash or recyclables on top of furniture or appliances.
• Keep larger metal items separate from other material so that it can be recycled.
• Most appliances, including microwaves, require a fee for collection

This time of year is always exciting because it marks the beginning of when Madison starts to become a little more alive with student activity.  Moving Days is also a reality check for a lot of people that see how much waste they regularly create.  Take some time over the next week and assess just how easy it is to reuse and repurpose.  More information on all the events and programs during Moving Days can be found at the city of Madison Website.