Oct. 26, 2011

Missouri State fans can do more than "go maroon" at the Bears' Oct. 29 homecoming football game: They can help the university "go green" in the Environmental Protection Agency Game Day Challenge.

Missouri State is one of 81 colleges and universities across the country that to date are participating in the 2011 challenge, which tasks those institutions to utilize strategies to reduce waste at a home football game.

Schools participating in the challenge will collect materials such as paper, beverage containers, corrugated cardboard, organics and trash. However, Missouri State will focus on collecting recyclables at BearFest Village prior to the 2 p.m. kickoff and Plaster Sports Complex during and after the game.

Recycling bins will be set up at BearFest Village and at each trash can at Plaster Sports Complex. Volunteers will help monitor the fullness of the bins and tracking the amount of recyclables to report to the EPA, event organizer Evan Clark said.

"Every volunteer will be noticed by fans at the game, so another job will be communicating with patrons about where they can find bins," said Clark, a sophomore who is the vice president of Students for a Sustainable Future.

Volunteers are encouraged to wear BearWear and will have ID tags featuring the EPA Game Day Challenge logo and Missouri State logo. Those interested in volunteering should contact Clark at Evan2210@live.missouristate.edu or Kara Andres, president of Students for a Sustainable Future, at Kara223@live.missouristate.edu.

For more information on the Game Day Challenge, CLICE HERE.

For a complete list of Homecoming events and activities, please CLICK HERE.