Green Your Game Day: FSU’s ‘Garnet and Gold Goes Green’ Kicks Off Its Eighth Season

Florida State University football fans once again have a great opportunity to keep Doak Campbell stadium “green” on Saturday by recycling used beverage containers and reducing the amount of unsightly litter.

Kicking off the season’s first home football game against Murray State University, student volunteers participating in Florida State’s “Garnet and Gold Goes Green” campaign will be on hand to collect recyclable material (glass, plastic and aluminum) from the tailgating lots surrounding the stadium and to encourage fans to recycle. Fans can also help out by using the large recycling stations placed at gate entrances and the bins placed next to trash cans in the concession area inside the stadium.

This season, Garnet and Gold Goes Green is partnering with FSU’s Campus Recreation and with Grainger to enhance recycling services in the Intramural Fields parking area. Seminole fans who park there will receive a special bag for their recyclable material as they enter the lot.

“Campus Recreation is incredibly excited about this partnership with Garnet and Gold Goes Green to transform the game-day experience for the tens of thousands of Florida State Seminole fans who celebrate at the Main Campus Fields,” said Chris Morris, director of Campus Recreation. “This area is a vibrant hub for the tailgating experience, and our hope is to create a movement toward a truly environmentally responsible tailgating model.”

Now in its eighth season, Garnet and Gold Goes Green began as a litter prevention program and has grown to include other parts of the game-day celebration, including the Varsity Club, the President’s Box, the Marching Chiefs seating area, and Jimbo’s True Seminole Tailgate. More than 91 tons (182,000 pounds) of recyclable material have been collected at Doak Campbell Stadium over the past seven football seasons.

Garnet and Gold Goes Green is on track to hit a major milestone this season — diverting 100 tons of material from area landfills.

Garnet and Gold Goes Green is supported by its partners FSU Athletics, FSU Solid Waste and Recycling, Seminole Dining, University Relations, the Student Government Association, Campus Recreation, the Army ROTC Seminole Battalion, the Marching Chiefs, Grainger and Coca-Cola Recycling.