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Green Your Tailgating, No Matter Your School’s Colors

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What happens when you get 92,000 people together in one place on a Saturday before a football game? Tailgating is one of the most fun parts of watching a football game (both college and pro), but it isn’t one of the most environmentally friendly. Have you ever seen what those parking lots and lawns look like after a game?

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Even when trashcans are provided, trash is littered everywhere. The residents, cities and schools end up spending lots of time trying to clean up the trash from the event. Even with recycling programs in place, all the recyclables never seem to end up in the right collection bin.

However, there are some practical ways that fans can green their tailgating and still have fun. Ready to find out how? Green 32, green 32 … set … hike.

1. Reusable plates, utensils and cups

Even the red Solo cup has a reusable cousin. Recycled plastic plates, reusable utensils and cloth napkins can be used for tailgating, and you can save them and use them again at the next game. These products are more durable than the traditional disposable products and can be tossed in the dishwasher when you get home.

2. Recycle at home

Keep a bag or box in your tailgate area and take your empty cans and bottles home to recycle, or drop them off on your way out of town at the local recycle center.

3. Low-waste or zero-waste food

Avoid individually packaged foods, buy in bulk and bring fresh food whenever possible. This will cut down on the amount of waste that you have to dispose of at the end of the day. Food scraps can be composted; just toss them in a bag to take home and compost.

4. Take an extra trash bag and share with a neighbor

Perhaps a neighboring fan forgot to bring their own trash bag. By sharing, you are helping keep the area clean. Before you leave for the day, perhaps you could pick up just a few pieces of trash from the surrounding area for any fans who may not be as tidy (or may be too intoxicated to realize what they’ve done).

5. Leave only footprints, take only memories

It’s a pretty easy concept, really — take everything you brought with you. Don’t leave any games, broken chairs, tables or trash behind. When thinking about souvenirs for the day, consider the items carefully and make sure they are durable.

It amazes me just how bad these parking lots and lawns can look after a game. We all know better, so let’s enjoy the football season sustainably.

What “green” tailgating tips do you have to share? Leave them in the comments.

Feature image courtesy of Daniel X. O’Neil

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Calley Pate

A self-described eco-junkie, Calley Pate is the owner and editor of

The Eco Chic

blog covering eco-friendly living, cloth diapers, parenting, photography, and life in general. Her passion growing up was the arts and the ocean. After working as an environmental contractor, Calley took the leap into blogging full time in 2011.Calley is also Marketing & Social Media Manager for Kelly’s Closet cloth diaper retailer.

Latest posts by Calley Pate (see all)

Green Your Tailgating, No Matter Your School’s Colors – September 6, 2017
9 Eco-Friendly, Upcycled Thanksgiving Decoration Ideas – November 20, 2015
The Upcycled Office Space – November 9, 2015

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Green Your Tailgating, No Matter Your School’s Colors

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In Defense of Scott Brown, Carpetbagger

Mother Jones

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Illustration: Thomas Nast/Library of Congress; Scott Brown: Seamas Culligan/ZUMA

Scott Brown has a carpetbagging problem. On Monday, the former Republican senator from Massachusetts—who is now running for Senate in New Hampshire—defended his Granite State bona fides by taking a page from Lisa Simpson: “Do I have the best credentials? Probably not. ‘Cause, you know, whatever.”

At this point, it’s the rare Brown story that doesn’t at least allude to the dreaded c-word. “Carpetbagger or Comeback Kid?” asked the Washington Examiner‘s Rebecca Berg. “Scott Brown’s first hurdle in the Granite State will be addressing the carpetbagging charge,” argued US News & World Report‘s David Catanese. Respondents to a March poll from Suffolk University, a plurality of whom disapproved of Brown, used words like “carpetbagger” and “interloper” to describe the ex-senator. His opponent in the Republican primary, former Sen. Bob Smith, has even offered to buy Brown a road map to the state—although Smith has run for Senate in Florida twice in the last decade.

If Brown wants to go back to Washington next winter, he should probably come up with a better response than “whatever.” But his critics in Washington have it all wrong. For more than a century, carpetbaggers have gotten a bad rap for all the wrong reasons.

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In Defense of Scott Brown, Carpetbagger

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