Zero Waste Stadium
Zero Waste Stadium
Zero waste is an ambitious goal that challenges businesses to find ways to reuse, compost, or recycle any waste generated. Since 2009, UNC Charlotte has been obligated to meet the UNC System Sustainability Policy, to develop “programs that work toward achieving zero waste”.
In 2011, the Student Government Association passed a resolution to make Jerry Richardson stadium zero waste, and it has been operated that way since the first game in 2013. Since opening, only two games have been under 50% diversion rate, and half of our games have diverted 70% or more of the waste generated during the game.
At football games, cups, tubs, and bottles and cans are collected for recycling, while all food waste and paper packaging goes to a compost facility. Volunteers and university staff work together to sort these materials to ensure they are directed to the correct facility. Check out the video below about zero waste in the stadium, shown before every home football game beginning in Fall 2025!
In the 2025 football season, an average of 84% of game day waste was diverted from landfills. The diversion rates for each game in the 2025 season are listed below:
| vs. Chapel Hill (September 6, 2025) | 87% Diversion |
| vs. Monmouth (September 13, 2025) | 82% Diversion |
| vs. Rice University (September 18, 2025) | 82% Diversion |
| vs. Temple University (October 18, 2025) | 85% Diversion |
| vs. North Texas (October 24, 2025) | TBD |
| vs. UTSA (November 15, 2025) | TBD |
The average diversion rates for the past three seasons are listed below:
| 2024 | 81% Diversion |
| 2023 | 83% Diversion |
| 2022 | 72% Diversion |
In October 2024, the Zero Waste Stadium Initiative was featured by UNC Charlotte and WSOC-TV.
