Description
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is owned by the city of Greensboro. The complex includes a 23,500 seat arena, a 2,400 seat auditorium, and a 167,000 sq. ft. Special Events Center. More than 1.1 million guests took part in events at the complex last year. The GCC sells more than 400,000 alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages each year, so glass, plastic and aluminum are common materials the complex recycles.

Implementation
Recently, the GCC has made sweeping “green” changes to its facilities construction, material collection and purchasing. The GCC did this partially to comply with recent legislation which requires certain ABC permit holders to recycle beverage containers and the upcoming plastic bottle ban.

The GCC modified its material recovery process by adding a recycling chute to a concourse level exit, which saves housekeeping from using the elevator to access the recycling dumpster. Housekeeping collects materials with recycling tilt trucks and sends the commingled material down the chute into a 40-yard compacting recycling dumpster, which is serviced by the city of Greensboro weekly or bi-weekly. The GCC also provides 100 bottle-shaped recycling bins for use on the floor during events for the public. The bins are five feet in height and wrapped with a brightly-colored label. These bins replaced temporary cardboard recycling stations, which were often crushed by guests or subject to contamination. The GCC educates its guests using one of the many 40 x 60 ft. backlit panels stationed at various points in the buildings. Five signs displayed on the panels are used to inform the guests on how to participate in GCC’s improved recycling program and to take these practices with them when they go home.

Results:
Between September 2008 and March 2009 a total of 72.28 tons of mixed recyclable materials was recovered. Of that, 19.68 tons consisted of recyclable beverage containers.