With about 400 cubic yards of waste left on campus after every football Saturday, there is enough to completely cover the field at Spartan Stadium in 3 feet of trash in less than two seasons.
While some universities have tailgating recycling programs, MSU has limited abilities to create a program.
Only 1-2 percent of all waste from tailgating is recycled, said Pete Pasterz, MSU Recycling and Waste Reduction manager.
The only recycling that occurs on game day is for vendor's boxes inside the stadium, Pasterz said. But the boxes are only a thin layer of skin around loads of garbage, he said.
"It pales in comparison," Pasterz said.
It takes about 40 staff members between four and eight hours to pick up the garbage around campus after tailgating, said Jennifer McManus, an administrator in the Grounds and Maintenance Department. The staff starts at ground zero - otherwise known as the tennis courts - and spans the entire campus.
"It's disgusting," McManus said.
The problem is MSU has no facilities available in the area to sort and bail recyclable material, which makes all recycling efforts difficult, Pasterz said.
The only other recycling that takes place is in the form of volunteer groups out on game day collecting cans for their deposits, Pasterz said.
A few years ago, containers for bottles were available during games, but these containers were often used for trash instead, said Gary Parrott, manager of the MSU Grounds Maintenance Department. The department now passes out up to 2,000 trash bags during festivities, Parrott said.
But in Ann Arbor, recycling bins can be found next to every trash can during tailgating at the University of Michigan, said Tracy Artley, recycling coordinator for U-M's Department of Grounds and Waste Management. Recyclable materials are later sorted by the city of Ann Arbor, she said.
In the 2004 football season, 21.4 percent of all tailgating waste was recycled, Artley said. That included 17.6 tons of plastic bottles and 8.8 tons of cardboard and paper.
Although there have been problems with trash being placed in recycling containers, people usually use the bins appropriately, Artley said.
"The longer we do it and the more seasons we do it, not only do people get used to it - they request it," Artley said.
In 1997, the University of Illinois spent $1.3 million to include a sorting facility and bailing area in its waste transfer center for all recycling around campus, said Tim Hoss, Illinois recycling and material reduction coordinator.
The university has gained $7 million through cost avoidance and profits selling the raw materials since the sorting facility was added to the transfer center, Hoss said.
On game days, trash and recylables are sorted by hand at the waste center, Hoss said.
Northwestern University, like MSU, does not have a program for tailgating. Recycling program manager Julie Cahillane said although it is an option to consider, the university does not have the resources to commit to tailgating recycling programs.
The university does have a comprehensive on-campus recycling program for office paper and cans and has a contract with a hauler to take the items, she said.
MSU does recycle newspapers and office papers on campus and is looking to expand programs in dorms and cafeterias across campus, Paterz said. But while looking at options for expansion, the lack of facilities will continue to put up a substantial roadblock for MSU's programs, both in the dorms and around campus, Pasterz said.
"It is frustrating to fans and people here who look at campus the day after the game and see how trashed it is," Pasterz said.
