Items quickly filled the inaugural sports-waste recycling bin located at the Recreation Center at UC Santa Barbara. That first collection bin, set up in April as part of the student-led 鈥淒ive into Sustainability鈥� initiative, represents a proof of concept for an idea that was surprisingly difficult to execute on a campus known for its pioneering environmentalism.
鈥淪ports-waste recycling is relatively unheard of,鈥� said Aidan Flynn, who graduated this month with an environmental studies degree with an emphasis in business communications. 鈥淪portswear can range from swimcaps to any type of ball, so the recycling process looks different for each type of equipment. I think this is what has made it so difficult for the sporting industry to limit waste 鈥� and why this kind of program is new.鈥�
Each time the bin fills, it鈥檚 shipped to TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based business that specializes in partnering with municipalities and other big institutions to collect and render difficult-to-recycle post-consumer waste into raw materials. 鈥淚 mainly oversaw the project,鈥� added Flynn, who played for the women鈥檚 water polo team and served as athletics coordinator and co-chair for the campus Zero Waste Committee (ZWC). 鈥淐ami and Ellie planned and executed all of it.鈥�