USC has been named the winner of the Best Fan Engagement sub-category in the Pac-12 Zero Waste Challenge for the 2022 football season in the league-wide competition. This challenge began in 2016 to divert waste at home football games from landfills to recycling or composting.
This is USC’s seventh overall or category victory across football and men’s basketball.
In the 2022 football season, USC achieved 91.3% diversion rate for its Zero Waste game against Arizona State, including over three tons of recycling and over five tons of compost.
USC President Dr. Carol L. Folt was involved in the campaign and created a video message highlighting the Zero Waste Game, calling on all members of the Trojan community to do their part to help achieve the goal of zero waste.
The campaign included campus signage, website content, and social media posts, including “Waste Ed Wednesday,” which provided waste disposal instructions to game attendees and campus tailgaters. A game day central page was also created with Green tailgating tips and sustainability resources, as well as expectations for the Zero Waste Game.