Tailgating readiness: Save the Earth and campus edition.

The University will be running a pilot gameday recycling program on North Campus this year.

That's good news, considering the recyclables generated at the average tailgate could probably power downtown Winterville for a year*. There have been some unofficial efforts in the past to recycle on gamedays, but since they were volunteer efforts the follow through has been spotty.

American Stadium Services, which has the contract to clean Sanford Stadium and campus after the games, will have staff on North Campus during the tailgates this year, according to co-owner Bill Fox. They'll be picking up recyclables and trash to get a jump on things before kickoff and up til about half time, he said.

When it comes to recycling, it'll be dual stream. That means paper products in one bag and cans, bottles and plastics in another, he said. I didn't ask about Solo Cups (you know, the red ones), but generally those aren't recyclable. Clear plastic cups and plastic water bottles, though, are.

If you're not on North Campus, you can still recycle. I know we plan to this year. All you really need is an extra trash bag and a little sign telling people to use it.

The University has recycling bins on campus, and this map shows the locations. Again, this is dual stream - one bag for paper products (including cardboard) and another for glass, cans and plastic.

Stuff with a lot of food residue should probably just be thrown away.

Hell, you might be able to just bag the stuff up, mark it, and leave it. George Stafford, the University's associate vice president for auxiliary and administrative services, said one of the biggest trash problems comes from people going through trash cans looking for aluminum cans. They end up dumping out all the trash in the search.

If you just leave your recyclables marked, maybe they won't do that anymore.

* Completely made up statement.