Program Overview 

Located in University Park, Beaver Stadium is home to the Nittany Lions football team. 

The stadium and its surrounding parking lots occupy 110 acres. As the second largest 

university stadium in the country, it generally hosts 110,000 to 150,000 fans at its seven 

football games per year. Although the seating capacity is 107,282, big games can draw 

twice that number, filling the stadium and surrounding parking lots with tailgating Penn 

State football fans and guests who catch the game using portable radios and televisions. 

Each game generates an estimated 50 tons of waste. Early afternoon games can yield less, 

but matchups with major rivals draw large crowds and can result in upwards of 100 tons 

of waste in a single day. With tipping fees for waste at $70 per ton and recycling costing 

just $5 unbagged, to $15 bagged per ton, there is a clear financial incentive to reduce 

the volume of waste sent to the local landfill. By offering fans several convenient options 

for handling their recyclable materials, the stadium reduced the number of labor hours 

needed for cleanup, thereby reducing overtime pay. As a result, the stadium’s recycling 

program has cut the cost of cleanup by an average of 40 percent per game. 

Al Matyasovsky, supervisor of central support services at Penn State, describes the 

stadium’s recycling program as both “evolutionary and revolutionary.” Over the years, 

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Recycle on the Go

This aerial photo shows 

the bowl area of Penn 

State’s Beaver Stadium 

on game day, with fans 

filling the stands. 

Recycle on the Go Success Story

Recycling at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium 

With a 13-year-old recycling program, The Pennsylvania State University’s (Penn State) Beaver Stadium in the past 

diverted nearly 30 tons of recyclables per year from local landfills. A new initiative to promote recycling in the stadium’s 

tailgating area has helped Penn State more than triple its old recycling record, collecting 112 tons in 2008. Proceeds 

from the sale of the recycled materials are donated to the local United Way—more than $54,000 to date. 

Facts at a Glance

• Beaver Stadium has a seating 

capacity of 107,282.

• The stadium and parking lots 

occupy 110 acres.

• 290 wheeled recycling carts are 

spread throughout the parking 

lots to collect recyclables, while 

42 dumpsters are available to 

collect trash.

• 30 A-frames were added to 

dispense bags where dumpsters 

were not available.

• Volunteers hand out nearly 

2,000 blue recycling bags per 

game. Another 2,800 recycling 

bags and an equal number of 

trash bags are available at the 

dumpsters.

• 90 percent of recyclables are 

captured in the blue bags.

• The tailgating “blue bag” 

initiative cost $9,000 to 

implement but doubled the 

stadium’s recycling capture.

• In 2008 the stadium collected 

112 tons of recyclables.

• Sale of recyclables raised more 

than $54,000 for the United Way.
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Recycle on the Go U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

the program has expanded to include plastic bottles (#1–#7), aluminum 

cans, glass, cardboard, program booklets, and food waste. Plus, through 

an innovative partnership between the university, local government, 

and an alumnus-owned business, proceeds from the sale of the collected 

recyclable materials are donated to the United Way to support local 

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

Nuts and Bolts

Matyasovsky’s office oversees the day-to-day operation of the stadium’s 

recycling program, but a number of other organizations helped design 

and implement it, including Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant and 

Department of Athletics, the Centre County Solid Waste Authority, 

Joe Krentzman & Son, Inc., and Centre County United Way. 

Recycling at Beaver Stadium features two components: collections inside 

the stadium and collections in the parking lots and tailgating areas. Inside 

the stadium, the major recyclables are beverage containers, cardboard, and program booklets. The majority 

of the tonnage is derived from the tailgating areas, where fans are encouraged to separate plastic bottles, 

aluminum cans, and glass from their waste. 

Tailgating Recycling. Fans can recycle in tailgating areas in various ways. 

 1. By placing 290 blue, 96-gallon, wheeled recycling bins throughout the stadium grounds, Penn State has 

made it more convenient for fans to recycle their beverage containers. With only 42 eight-yard dumpsters 

for trash, clusters of bins are constant reminders to recycle. 

 2. In 2007, stadium officials launched a new effort that involved the student club STATERs (Students 

Taking Action To Encourage Recycling) distributing translucent blue plastic bags to tailgating fans to 

collect their recyclables. About 15 student volunteers mingle with fans before games to personally 

hand out about 2,000 translucent blue recycling bags and encourage visitors to support the 

stadium’s recycling efforts.

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These blue toters, labeled “Cans Only” and 

“Plastic Bottles #1–#7,” are positioned near 

the entrance to the stadium. 

Student volunteers wear bright yellow-green 

T-shirts imprinted with recycling messages and 

remind fans that their participation in the recycling 

program not only helps protect the environment 

but also contributes money to the United Way.

Pennsylvania’s Municipal Waste 

Planning, Recycling, and Waste 

Reduction Act (Act 101) requires 

communities of 10,000 people or more 

to recycle at least three commodities. 

“We go beyond that,” says Al 

Matyasovsky, supervisor of central 

support services at Penn State. “We use 

Act 101 as a guidepost, but at Beaver 

Stadium we have 110,000 or more fans. 

We want to demonstrate appropriate 

waste management.”
 3. Fans can also get the blue bags from specially 

designed dispensers (similar to those used to 

distribute plastic bags in a supermarket’s produce 

section) affixed to brown dumpsters, the top two 

feet of which are painted green to let fans know 

they can pick up recycling bags there. Stadium 

staff members closely monitor the number 

of bags at the dumpsters and replenish them 

when the supply is low.

 4. Thirty A-frames were added in 2008 to dispense 

clear bags in areas where there were no dumpsters. 

Each fall stadium staff members place the recycling 

carts and dumpsters in their designated spots in the 

parking lots, where they will remain until the end of 

the football season in November. One staff member sets out the carts while two 

or three put the dumpsters in place. Stadium staff developed a map indicating 

where dumpsters would be placed, establishing consistency in location so fans 

know where to expect them from year to year. 

On Sundays after games, the waste management staffers collect the filled blue 

bags from the parking lots and bring them to a university-owned recycling center 

and staging area, about half a mile from the stadium, to sort the materials. Bag 

collection might take a six-person crew with three trucks anywhere from four to 

six hours. The number of bags collected can range from 1,500 to 4,500 per game 

depending in part on the matchup, which drives fan attendance.

Over the three or four days following a game, one staff member is 

responsible for collecting the recyclables from the blue carts, using a truck 

with a lift arm. Approximately 1 to 1.5 tons of recyclables per game are 

pulled from the blue carts. Recyclables in the carts are already sorted so 

they need not go to the university recycling center. A recycling marketer 

picks up the recyclables and sells them to processors. 

The proceeds are donated to the United Way.

For an implementation cost of about $9,000, the “blue bag” 

initiative effectively doubled the stadium’s recycling capture, 

Matyasovsky says, over simply scattering the wheeled recycling 

carts throughout the tailgating area.

Recycling Inside the Stadium. In 2008, Penn State began 

collecting beverage containers inside the stadium. It added 127 

recycling bins in the concourse areas and plans to purchase 

more. The 96-gallon stainless steel bins have a 4- by 3-foot panel 

for print advertising, which will help cover the upfront purchase 

and ongoing maintenance costs for the recycling bins. These 

bins used inside Beaver Stadium will be shifted to other facilities, 

such as Medlar Field during baseball season, to further expand 

recycling opportunities on campus.

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Recycle on the Go U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Both recycling bags and 

trash bags are available 

at the dumpsters.

Workers load recycling bags filled with cans and bottles onto 

a truck for delivery to the Penn State recycling center where 

they will be sorted for delivery to the Centre County Solid 

Waste Authority. 

The stadium recently 

switched from black to 

clear plastic bags with black 

lettering so staff can ensure 

that only non-recyclable 

materials are thrown away. 
Also collected inside the stadium are leftover program 

booklets and cardboard packaging from concessionaires. 

The university’s waste management team collects these 

materials after the games at the stadium’s north ramp 

and delivers them to the recycling facility for processing. 

Education and Outreach

“Come to the Game, Honor the Name” is the stadium’s 

recycling mantra. Fans are reminded through public service 

announcements on the video board and in person by the 

student volunteers that participating in the stadium’s 

recycling program embodies a “multiplicity of Penn State 

values,” Matyasovsky says. “At a Penn State game, you should enjoy yourself, but at the end 

of tailgating time, participating in the recycling program is the right thing to do to honor the 

school, keep our grounds clean, help keep costs down, protect the environment, and support 

the United Way.” 

Challenges and Solutions

Challenge: Not enough recyclables were being collected simply through use of recycling 

carts placed in the tailgating area. Even though scout troops encouraged 

fans to separate their trash from recyclables, with 110 acres to cover, the 

effort was not that effective, and trash still ended up on the ground. 

Solution: Student volunteers now circulate through the parking 

lots handing out translucent blue bags so fans can 

easily separate their recyclables from trash. The bags 

themselves are recyclable once the materials inside have 

been removed and sorted. (The stadium is able to send 

the plastic bags along with other plastic film collected 

on campus to be recycled into wood/plastic composite 

lumber.) The blue bag effort nearly doubled the volume 

of materials captured in the tailgating area.

Challenge: The Centre County Solid Waste Authority requires that 

Penn State’s recyclables have a contamination rate of 

3 percent or less. 

Solution: Penn State policy—university-wide—requires 

participation of faculty, staff, and students in its recycling program to ensure 

compliance with the county’s mandated 3 percent or less contamination 

rate. At Beaver Stadium, the first line of defense is promoting source 

separation through use of blue bags and recycling carts. Once the recyclables 

are collected from the tailgating area, university waste management staff 

empties the bags and sorts the materials at the campus recycling center. The 

county does an additional level of sorting. Penn State has not faltered in 

meeting the 3 percent goal during the 13 years of the recycling program. 

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Recycle on the Go U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Bins placed inside the 

stadium have panels 

for print advertising to 

cover the purchase and 

maintenance costs for 

the recycling bins.

Jumbotron announcements like 

this one encourage recycling at 

the stadium. 
Office of Solid Waste (5306P) 

EPA 530-F-09-028 

November 2009 

www.epa.gov/recycleonthego 

Recycled/Recyclable – Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Postconsumer, 

Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper

EPA is partnering with 

other Federal agencies, 

states, municipalities, and 

organizations to promote 

recycling away from home.

www.epa.gov/recycleonthego

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The university continuously looks for ways to reduce waste on 

campus. Another successful initiative, and one of the few other 

events that take place in Beaver Stadium, is Trash to Treasure, a 

1-day yard sale held every spring. The event invites students to 

drop off unwanted clothing, furniture, school supplies, and other 

items for resale. In its first six years, Trash to Treasure diverted 

nearly 422 tons of reusable materials from the landfill and raised 

$258,000, which was donated to the United Way. 

In the Future

Penn State’s goals are to increase student involvement in promoting the recycling 

program and to improve communication with fans to educate them about how many 

bags of recyclables have been collected and how much money they raised for the 

United Way. A long-term goal is to raise the stadium’s recycling rate from 

48.6 percent to 67 percent. 

The stadium has purchased bins to compost food waste from food preparation 

areas inside the kitchen and will begin a pilot program during the next season. 

The university has a food composting program that will accept the food collected 

at the stadium. 

Tips for Stadiums

• Start with a pilot program to learn what works for the fans and 

the stadium. 

• Be where the customers are and make recycling easy.

• Enlist students and other volunteers to hand out bags and 

promote the program. 

• Advertise the program and report volumes collected on the 

video board, in advertisements in program booklets, and in 

announcements over the public address system. 

• Thank the fans and stakeholders regularly.