Penn State football fans are reminded to use blue bags for empty bottles and cans and clear bags for everything else at tailgates.
Photo provided
We’ve been preaching the same message for a few years: When you go to a Penn State football game, blue bags are for empty bottles and cans and clear bags are for everything else. It’s as simple as that. We would like to see recycling contamination reduced this season.
It’s easy to recycle in Penn State football tailgates. Once you’ve settled into your tailgate seat, head to an A-Frame labeled for Penn State Football Recycling. A-Frames contain two colors of bags (blue bags for recycling empty plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminum cans — and clear bags for everything else).
Once you have filled your blue bags with empty bottles and cans, tie the bag and leave it at your tailgate. Do the same with your transparent trash bag: tie it up and leave it near your tailgate. The field team will start collecting the blue and transparent bags the morning after the match. The clear bags will go to the landfill and the blue bags will be delivered to the Center County Recycling and Refuse Authority (CCRRA) where the contents will be sorted and recycled.
To sort recyclables, CCIR employees will open each bag by hand and empty the contents onto our sorting conveyor belt. They will then manually sort the bag materials into the following categories: plastic bottles, clear glass bottles, green glass bottles, brown glass bottles and metal cans. Recyclable materials will be prepared and sent to market and transformed into new products.
It would be a relatively easy process if the blue bags only contain empty plastic bottles, glass bottles and metal cans. With readers like you helping to spread the word, I hope blue bag recycling materials arrive at our facilities much cleaner this season. Please help educate your friends and family on proper football tailgate recycling this fall.
Finally, leave your tailgate area better than you found it. Our employees, the PSU field team and your community will thank you.
Speaking of keeping it clean, you can win a $50 Weis Market gift card to keep your tailgate clean of junk and debris. Once you’ve cleaned your tailgate, take a picture of your tied bags and the tailgate litter-free area. Post your photo on CCIR’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page (or tag us!). We’ll pick one lucky winner after each home game to receive a $50 Weis Market gift card. Be sure to register after every home game for a chance to win. We would like to thank Weis Markets for donating a $50 gift card for each home game.
As always, thank you for recycling and keeping our local community clean!
Amy Schirf is an education coordinator for the Center County Recycling and Refuse Authority. Contact her at [email protected].