Zero Waste Wolfpack: Waste Management and Sustainability at NC State

Join Sophs this episode as she sits down with Meredith Smith, the program manager of the Zero Waste Wolfpack program, a program that helps reduce the waste going to landfills from NC State's football games! Together, they explore what it means to build a more sustainable community, the importance of reducing waste, and how small, everyday actions can make a big impact. From campus initiatives to community wide change, discover how Zero Waste Wolfpack is inspiring people to rethink their habits, take action, and work together toward a more sustainable future.


Oak City Move is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.

Creators and Guests

Host

Sophs Magnanini

Public Affairs Director (2025-2026)

What is Oak City Move?

A radio program and podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 celebrating those who enact positive changes in the Raleigh community.

00:00
Sophia Magnanini
Oak City Move is a podcast on WKNC's 88.1 FM HD1 Raleigh, where we highlight people and organizations creating positive change in the Triangle and beyond. Oak City Move can be heard on air Every Monday on 88.1 FMHD1 Raleigh or online at wknc.org to listen to episodes and more, go to our blog at blog.wknc.org or follow us on SoundCloud @wknc881. Hello, 88.1 WKNC Raleigh. The song you just heard was Sweaty Linen by Serve Ninja 3. I'm Sophia Magnanini, your host and you're listening to Oak City Move. Today we're joined by a very special guest, Meredith Smith, who's the program manager of the Zero Waste Wolf Pack. So first off, I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to join me.

00:46
Sophia Magnanini
And if we kind of wanted to start for people who are hearing about Zero Waste Wolf Pack for the first time, if you wanted to kind of talk about what the program is and yalls mission.

00:56
Meredith Smith
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. So Zero Waste Wolfpack is a partnership between NC State Athletics, NC State Waste Reduction and Recycling, GFL and Wolfpack Sports Properties. So the program unites many stakeholders. So students, volunteers, the fans, athletics marketing, cleaning teams, haulers, concessions and local nonprofits over the shared goal of diverting waste from the landfill through circularity and responsible material management. So the ultimate goal of the program is in its name. It's zero waste is our ultimate goal.

01:41
Sophia Magnanini
That's awesome. I know you're the program manager, so if you kind of wanted to talk about how you got involved in the first place and kind of what made you want to be a part of it.

01:51
Meredith Smith
Yeah, for sure. So as Waste Reduction and Recycling's outreach and engagement coordinator, I am the Zero Waste Wolf Pack program manager. And I in my past roles with Live Nation, I got experience in zero waste operations and strategy. My brothers, my grandfather went to NC State, so I've always bled Wolfpack red. And so this specific, this position kind of just felt right for me.

02:20
Sophia Magnanini
No. Yeah. That's awesome. And I can only imagine it's such a great feeling kind of being a part of something that has such a great goal and that you guys just to know that you're helping create zero waste and helping promote sustainability and environmental consciousness and it's just so cool.

02:40
Meredith Smith
Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I love it. It's very rewarding.

02:44
Sophia Magnanini
When you say the phrase zero waste, can you kind of talk about what that actually means in practice.

02:50
Meredith Smith
Yeah. So a lot of people think zero waste means like literally no waste, but it actually means diverting 90% or more waste from landfill through reuse, recycling or composting.

03:05
Sophia Magnanini
And that's something I feel like a lot of people probably don't know. I know I definitely did not know. But that's really great because especially now in this kind of age, there's so many things that are being created and a lot of things that are just being thrown away. And so landfills are like bigger than ever right now. And so it's really great what you guys are doing to help kind of divert that and lower that percentage.

03:30
Meredith Smith
Yeah, exactly. And yeah, it means like zero waste to landfill, basically.

03:35
Sophia Magnanini
What does a typical kind of game day look like for you and your team? And also do you do all sports events or is it kind of mainly football or.

03:45
Meredith Smith
Yeah, good question. So a typical football game day for us lasts about nine to ten hours for my team of eight. So I have seven student interns and one full time staff. We to answer kind of. Before jumping into what a football game day might look like, were able to scale zero waste to the baseball stadium permanently last year. So that was like a really big win for us. And we have done like Raleigh relays as well as a few Reynolds games as well.

04:21
Sophia Magnanini
I love that. There's just so many different parts of it too that you guys are kind of slowly going around and just the whole community, you guys are a part of something.

04:31
Meredith Smith
Yeah, we're really grateful for that partnership. And then to kind of talk about like what a typical football game day looks like that nine to ten hour shift. So we first start with a team huddle to ensure that everyone knows who is covering each position. We typically have two concourse volunteer managers, two town bank center managers, two gate seven managers, and then one to two overall operations managers. So sometimes we'll have our comms intern at the game getting content and photos, but that's kind of like how we oversee responsibilities. So at the very beginning of the game we will go talk to concession workers to make sure everyone knows what to do with their plastic film, aluminum caps, cardboard and food waste. A lot of the time the concession workers are nonprofits, so it kind of like changes people every game.

05:33
Meredith Smith
So we just go make sure they know what they're doing, make sure they're aware of the program and how they can help. We hand out compost bags to the concession stands that need it. We pre sort and optimize the bins to get them ready for the volunteers. We set up our two back of house sorting stations at Gate 7 in Town bank center, and then we start funneling volunteers into gate 11, have them sign their waivers, get their T shirts and supplies. Once everyone's there, we kind of have like a pow wow, quick pep talk and what to expect, and then we all disperse to where we're covering the interns, make sure that, like, volunteers get snacks around halftime. And when the game ends, we all meet back up to collect the supplies and take a group photo.

06:24
Meredith Smith
And then after we send the volunteers off, me and the interns do one final sort or sweep of compost, plastic film and aluminum caps from all the compost concourse bends. We drop off Compost to Gate 7, bring back aluminum caps and film to the office where weigh and track it, and then we end the night with another team huddle where we shout, zero waste on three, one, two, three. Zero waste. And it kind of sends us all off on, like, an energized note.

06:55
Sophia Magnanini
That's so awesome. And just to think about, I mean, like, football games and the stadium itself is just so huge, so many people there. So it's so cool to think that like, with just, I mean, without the volunteers, but just that small group you all running, that is such a big program, and it branches off these ideas of sustainability to different people. Because, I mean, like you were saying with the nonprofits for the concessions, sometimes then you're kind of helping teach them about what you guys are doing and the zero waste. And that might be something that then they carry on to different places and so forth with the volunteers and all. But that's. That's so cool. And also just sounds like a who. What time do you guys usually leave at the end of the night?

07:45
Meredith Smith
It depends on what time the game is. But we've clocked out as late as like 1:32am before.

07:54
Sophia Magnanini
That's great. But I mean, that just shows you guys have the dedication, the heart.

07:58
Meredith Smith
We sure do. I couldn't do it without the team that stands behind me.

08:01
Sophia Magnanini
That follows up kind of to my next question. How important are student volunteers and partnerships with other organizations in the program? Success?

08:12
Meredith Smith
Yeah, like, so important. Without all of the helping hands and just willingness to follow proper procedures and communicate, we wouldn't be able to reach the numbers that we do.

08:25
Sophia Magnanini
Guys do a lot of kind of partnering with other outside organizations or even different clubs and stuff in at NC State that they kind of like filter into your volunteers as well.

08:39
Meredith Smith
Yes. So we recruit student organizations. We basically can Pay student organizations $200 if they bring 10 or more volunteers with them. So that's a big incentive to get student volunteers out there. And then, yes, you're right. We do partner with some external nonprofits like the Great Rally Cleanup, Food for Thought, Meals on Meals for the Masses. Trying to think who else do we got? Yeah, we like, oh, South Wilmington Street Men's Shelter. They're, they're really big great as well. So yeah, we partner with them to kind of recover like Great Raleigh Cleanup. We recover aluminum in the tailgate lots with them, and then the shelters help us to recover food.

09:33
Sophia Magnanini
That's really cool. And I, I just did a interview not too long ago at the Great Raleigh Cleanup and like, great organization. And so it's so cool to see that y' all coming together with so many different organizations to build up and increase the impact that you guys have is so cool.

09:49
Meredith Smith
Teamwork makes the dream work.

09:51
Sophia Magnanini
Exactly, exactly. What's one thing about the amount or kind of type of waste produced at like the major sporting events that might surprise a lot of people?

10:03
Meredith Smith
Yeah, one thing about the amount of waste produced at a major sporting event that might surprise people would just be like the sheer amount that is produced and then the environmental impact that it causes. So one single game can produce around �35,000 of waste. And that has a direct impact on our local landfills, as you were mentioning earlier. So they're filling at a capacity that the planet can't currently handle. The waste that does go to landfill at Carter Findlay goes to the South Wake county landfill, and it's expected to reach capacity by 2040. So that's just 14 years from now. And food waste in the landfill is particularly concerning because it produces methane, which is a greenhouse gas that's 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

10:59
Meredith Smith
So a lot of the waste at Carter Findlay is, you know, cans, bottles, as probably fans would expect. But a lot of it is food waste as well. But luckily at NC State, we do have our own on campus compost facility that is closing the loop on food waste, among other things like animal bedding and wood chips. And it's really cool that we're able to turn compostable items from the football games into a nutrient rich soil amendment that is used back on camping campus, in landscaping and at the agroecology farm.

11:38
Sophia Magnanini
Oh yeah, that's so cool. I did not know that.

11:40
Meredith Smith
People don't know that. So that's definitely a talking point we use with those nonprofits and those concessionary workers. And I was just going to mention I just got an email this morning. We are recently worked with Jonathan Casper on a study to kind of understand our volunteers perspective on waste. So were kind of doing, we would send them like a pre survey and a post survey, completely optional. If they did participate in both surveys, they get entered to win a prize. But so far throughout like this, it's about mid season right now. But he sent over some results this morning and found that 91% agreed or strongly agreed that the shift gave them a new perspective on waste diversion. So the experience of actually volunteering with us did shift their perspective, which is really cool to see.

12:40
Sophia Magnanini
It's awesome because yeah, not only is it allowing people to actually not, I mean, not get their hands dirty, but be in it and kind of be a part of helping reduce that. And then it also shows them, oh wow. Like this is an actual kind of problem that many more people should be probably trying to do what y' all are doing. And it kind of changes that switch in their brain where then they might be more environmentally friendly and conscious throughout their life and teach that to other people as well. And it's really cool also what you're saying about the composting because then it's almost like a whole little life cycle that you guys help create of cleaning up the campus and the community around it and then giving back and then that comes right back into the campus in better ways.

13:31
Meredith Smith
Yeah, 100%.

13:32
Sophia Magnanini
I know you were talking about how much usually gets produced in the one singular game. I know I read that you guys, for the 2025 football season, you guys diverted more than 150,000 pounds of waste from landfills. And the program has made such a measurable impact on waste reduction. When you see like numbers like those, how does that make y' all feel? Personally.

14:02
Meredith Smith
Honestly seeing the numbers, entering them into the tracking sheet? I know for my team and for myself, it just wants us to strive to do better each game. It's incredibly rewarding seeing like that were able to increase our inside stadium game day diversion rate 20% just between 2024 and 2025. And I just, I saw personally how much work each party was putting in. So seeing those results are just incredibly motivating.

14:40
Sophia Magnanini
No. Yeah, I can only imagine, I mean after how much time and effort you guys put into every game to kind of be like, whoa, we did that because that is a lot of just trash. And I mean I could not, I don't even know what would be that heavy. A whole city.

15:01
Meredith Smith
Yeah, right. I like to compare elephants when I'm giving other presentations. I don't even know how many elephants.

15:09
Sophia Magnanini
That would be, but exactly a lot of them. A lot of them.

15:13
Meredith Smith
A lot.

15:16
Sophia Magnanini
I know I'm kind of going back to when you're talking about how you work with other organizations around the area, but how do you think the work at NC State kind of connects to broader sustainability efforts across Raleigh?

15:30
Meredith Smith
Yeah, it is so cool to see how interconnected sustainability is locally. Like, just in the two and a half years that I've been in this position and living in Raleigh, I've got to meet some of the most, like, passionate and hardworking individuals working to improve sustainability across Raleigh and the state. Some of my favorite, like, broader sustainability efforts I've enjoyed being a part of has been partnering with the Great Raleigh Cleanup, Food for Thought, South Wilmington Street Men's Shelter, and attending events by the Circular Triangle Carolina Recycling Association, North Carolina Composting Council, and the B Corp community. It's just amazing to see kind of how all of the webs are intertwined and how each group is so supportive of kind of different areas of sustainability. We really just like boost each other up and yeah, I really love that about the sustainability community here.

16:37
Sophia Magnanini
Like you're saying how you guys all kind of take parts in different areas, but then all together you guys create such a difference for the Raleigh area. And also I can imagine like a great camaraderie between everyone. That is something that's so important and also probably just makes the working together and cleanups in general so much fun and just a good time.

17:01
Meredith Smith
Yes, absolutely. Something like I always say, like sorting trash bonds. You like nothing else.

17:13
Sophia Magnanini
That's good. Going back to kind of just NC State itself and I mean universities in general. What role do you think that universities should play in teaching environmental responsibility kind of beyond the classroom.

17:32
Meredith Smith
Yeah, I think universities should embed sustainability into kind of all aspects of campus life. So being at a university is such a transformative time in people's lives. And I think it's the perfect time to inspire, educate and motivate students to lead and live sustainable lifestyles.

17:55
Sophia Magnanini
No, 100%. Because yeah, once. Especially when it's kids that are coming from home to then coming to kind of being on their own for the first time. And you kind of got to get your own responsibility and environmental responsibility is a part of that. And so it's a great thing that more people should kind of be aware of and learn to kind of have.

18:19
Meredith Smith
Completely agree with you.

18:21
Sophia Magnanini
And this kind of also goes with My next question, if you could change one thing about how it could be NC State or just other campuses in general handle waste, what would it be?

18:35
Meredith Smith
I love this question. So it all starts with procurement. I've learned this like in my past positions with material management. So I would say the one thing I would change is how we procure materials that end up in the waste. So that's really the first place we can look to reduce at the source, which is like the top tier, you know, most preferred action on the hierarchy, on the waste management hierarchy. So if we could prioritize reusables, circularity and then recycling and compostables when reusables aren't options, that's ultimately how we could revolutionize our current waste problems.

19:22
Sophia Magnanini
No? Yeah, that's really interesting. I'm hearing it from someone that's you're so involved and knowledgeable about this stuff that it really kind of gets you to think and be like, oh wait, yeah, there are probably, there's so many different things that go into handling waste besides just, you know, throwing something out or recycling something. So it's really cool that you bring up these points that kind of might make people start thinking more about how to handle waste.

19:50
Meredith Smith
I appreciate that.

19:53
Sophia Magnanini
What would you like Zero Waste Wolf pack to accomplish over the next couple years?

20:00
Meredith Smith
I would love for Zero Waste wolf pack to reach zero waste over the next few years. I know the first step is kind of, you know what I was just talking about making sure that we procure 100% reusable compostables, recyclables and you know, we already have the sorting operations in place. So now we just need to procure the right materials. And I know we're along that path like in Town bank center and Tough East Terrace, they're already like procuring mostly compostables. So that's something to definitely highlight and kind of like praise Aramark, the concessionaire for. And yeah, I would also love to expand the program into the tailgate lots as well. That's kind of like more of a longer term goal, but there's a lot of potential out there as well.

20:56
Sophia Magnanini
You guys are definitely going to reach these goals, if not next year, somewhere in the near future. Because I mean 90 is already so crazy and just it seems like you guys just keep getting better and better at kind of handling the waste and reaching your goals. So that's gonna be really exciting to see.

21:17
Meredith Smith
Yak. I don't, and I don't know if I said, but last year our Inside game day diversion rate was 67%. So we're definitely getting up there. Our goal this year is 75. We're currently at about 58, 59. So we've got about three more games to bring that up. And I have faith in us and I do too.

21:47
Sophia Magnanini
I mean, everything that you guys do is just so awesome and so cool and I feel like so many more students and just people in general around the community need to know about it and kind of also just learn in general about waste and where their waste goes, what they should do with it, what comes of it. So it's really awesome.

22:10
Meredith Smith
One way people can easily get involved just because it's something everyone has in common 100%.

22:20
Sophia Magnanini
As we kind of come towards the end of our interview, if you kind of wanted to shout out some of Zero Waste Wolf Pack's social media or websites and if you kind of wanted to tell listeners if they wanted to volunteer or get involved, how they could possibly do that.

22:37
Meredith Smith
Yeah, so Zero Waste Wolfpack doesn't have a Instagram, but we do share a lot on NC State Recycles is our Instagram and they can learn more on our website. That's Recycling NCSU EDU 0 WasteWolfPack. They can also sign up via our Google form for a game or a post game sort and so yeah, they can find all of that information on our website. We also have a couple YouTube videos that kind of show volunteers what to expect and yeah, that's how you can find us. And we would love to see as many of y' all out there as possible.

23:23
Sophia Magnanini
Awesome. No, yeah. Anyone listening who wants to get involved, please do because this sounds like such a cool program. Just a great time and great opportunity to meet other people that are just positive and have the kind of same goals of cleaning up and promoting sustainability. So that's so awesome. And for my last and final question, what's one thing that you think listeners can do this week to make their campus, neighborhood or community just a little bit cleaner?

23:53
Meredith Smith
Yeah, I love that question as well. So just reduce what you can. Leave no trace, pick up trash when you see it. Volunteer for a cleanup either on campus or with the great Raleigh cleanup. Recycle. Right. So make sure you know what your hauler takes for recycling and then encourage your neighbors to do the same.

24:18
Sophia Magnanini
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining me. It was such a great time talking with you and learning more about Zero Waste Wolfpack and everything that you guys do. It's just so awesome.

24:32
Meredith Smith
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you having on having me on. It was an honor to be here.

24:38
Sophia Magnanini
As we come up on the end of our chat, I just want to thank you all again for listening and I want to thank Meredith for such an amazing conversation and opportunity. The Zero Waste Wolf Pack program is so cool and it just goes together with so many other people and organizations I've talked to in the past. Great Raleigh Cleanup Blossom together. Just it's really awesome. And sustainability and environmentalism is just such a important thing that everyone should be aware of and just try their best to be a part of. So yeah. Thank you all for listening to Oak City Move once again.

25:15
Sophia Magnanini
I'm your host Sophia Magnani and if you're interested in listening to this episode again or to past episodes of the show, you can go to wknc.org/podcast and make sure to tune into our show every other Monday on WKNC 88.1 FM Raleigh. Have a great day.