Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is becoming more environmentally friendly.
In 2013, the Office of Sustainability composted about 25 tons of material, said Allison Vitt, the office’s outreach and communications coordinator. This past football season, that number jumped to almost 31 tons.
The Office of Sustainability began composting waste from UF’s football games in 2013, she said.
When composting, organic materials, such as leftover food and paper products, are turned into fertilizer.
The fertilizer is used for the stadium’s grass, said Liz Storn, the office’s program coordinator. Two companies work with the University Athletic Association to take waste from the stadium to compost into fertilizer.
Vitt said the office has expanded composting to include paper towels in UF’s bathrooms and food in the dining halls. This is added to the compost collected at the stadium.
“It’s gradual, but you get to a point where it suddenly becomes the norm, and then it really becomes part of campus culture,” Vitt said.
Shelby Lublin, a UF exploratory freshman, said she didn’t know UF composted but would like to try composting herself.
“If I had the education on what exactly composting is, I would definitely see if it’s something I can do myself,” the 19-year-old said.
