Scoring Points for the Environment

^{Above: Nicole Killen at TD Arena in 2022}

“Sustainability can’t happen in isolation,” Nicole Killen says. “It definitely has to be something that’s acted on with a united front.”

That conviction, first captured on The College Today in 2022, when Killen was a graduate student testing a behavioral “nudge” with paired recycling/landfill bins at TD Arena, has since become the College of Charleston’s playbook. Today, as director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Killen is not only scaling that early success, but she’s also turning CofC Athletics into a proving ground for collaboration, infrastructure and culture change that reaches across campus.

Two years ago, TD Arena’s new bins were a test. Now, the results are visible everywhere, from Patriots Point to the suites and concourses of TD Arena, backed by grants, cross-department funding and a clear goal: zero waste by 2035.

“Our new paired recycling and landfill bins not only help people make the right decision on how to properly recycle, helping us support the College’s goal to be zero waste by 2035, but they also elevate the appearance of our athletics spaces,” Killen says.

From Nudge to Network

Killen’s original research focused on design: Make the sustainable action the easy action. At TD Arena, she paired standardized, clearly labeled bins and tracked behavior.

“We saw a significant increase,” she recalls, noting a 50% reduction in recyclables ending up in the landfill compared to pre-installation, and stronger compliance where the message and stakes were clear, like in the McAlister Suite. As crowds swelled that season, it revealed a new need: capacity. “From mid-December on, games were sold out. We realized how much more capacity was needed, especially on the third floor and set out to finish the project.”

That expansion came in May 2025, when the CSD funded and placed 17 additional Clean River bins (made from recycled plastic) to outfit TD’s suites and third floor. Athletics developed the vision and design, and The Budd Group helped determine placement and manage collection. Facilities provided a box truck to move the bins. The result: a consistent, professional and intuitive system that nudges thousands of fans night after night.

“It didn’t look cohesive before with random bins not labeled properly,” says Katie Doherty, the CSD’s zero-waste manager. “Even if you moved them together, they’d get separated again. Now, everywhere you go, you have the option for recycling and landfill side by side. That consistency puts the decision in people’s minds and makes it easy to do the right thing.”

Big Wins at Patriots Point

The biggest visible leap came last June at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex. Leveraging a second $10,000 South Carolina Department of Environmental Services grant and pulling together funding from the Department of Athletics, Facilities Management and the CSD, the College replaced “random bins” with 47 standardized stations made from recycled plastic at the Turner Tennis Center and across baseball, softball and soccer fields.

“People may not realize how much this kind of infrastructure costs,” Doherty says. “All in, it was a little over $70,000. But bins are not just containers – they’re signage, they’re behavior design and they’re brand. The appeal of these bins brought everyone on board.”

Collaboration made it possible. In addition to the Athletics Department, the CSD and Facilities Management (especially the Grounds Crew, which handles outdoor landfill and recycling at Patriots Point), the Charleston Battery – also at Patriots Point – helped coordinate the shared environment and signage. The College’s logo and color-standard graphics now thread the complex together. The effect is both practical and aesthetic: a visible cue that the stadium is the College’s house – and that sustainability is part of the game-day experience.

“It looks so much more professional,” Doherty says, noting with a laugh that she’s seen some paw prints around the bins, too: “Some raccoons appreciate the bins a little! That’s fitting: Our unofficial CSD mascot is Ringo the Raccoon, because raccoons are thrifty and sort through trash – just like we do.”

Education on the Field

While standardized bins help fans make good decisions, the CSD has layered in education and engagement, too.

Last April, as part of Sustainability Week, the “Go Green” softball game brought composting and recycling demonstrations to the diamond. Ringo the Raccoon – played by former CSD intern Regan Krist – threw out the first pitch. The CSD tabled, taught recycling games and ran diversion stations. The Cougars won, fans learned how to sort and materials were kept out of the landfill.

Expect more in the coming weeks. The CSD is working with the Athletics Department to pair baseball and softball games on the same day for a broader “green game” experience. Meanwhile, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is coordinating a drive for the Cougar Pantry and the Cougar Free Store, another connection point between student-athletes, campus resources and sustainability.

The first two weeks of February, the CSD will be adding a clothing-drive competition to the food-drive competition that the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is hosting as a part of the Cougar Pantry’s collaboration with the Office of Community Engagement for Food Insecurity Awareness Week (Feb. 9–13).

Through the Cougar Changemaker Committee, students can apply for $5,000 grants to pilot sustainability projects, such as starting a composting program and replacing gas-powered blowers with electric ones.

“It’s all about community and connection,” Doherty says. “We help people see where resources can go, who might need them and when.”

Don’t be a ‘Wish-Cycler’

‘Wish-cycling’ – throwing in items that can’t be recycled – makes recycling more expensive. Basically, any metal, plastic or paper container can be recycled (labels are OK), along with clean paper, magazines and clean cardboard. No greasy pizza boxes, soft plastics/film or store receipts! When in doubt, throw it out.

At TD Arena, The Budd Group moves material out of the facility; CSD staff pulls recycling and triage contamination.

“If it’s really contaminated, it goes to the landfill. Otherwise, we sort and send it to the County Materials Recovery Facility; they sort again,” says Doherty, adding that the College runs a separate cardboard program, often sending directly to Sunoco, which pays for the material. “We oversee dumpster pickups. My goal is fewer pickups because we’re sending less waste.”

Killen’s purview now extends beyond bins. As director since May 2024, she’s reworking the College’s Sustainability Action Plan (originally written in 2021) so academics and operations are woven through every pillar – Materials Management, Climate Resilience and Empowerment – rather than siloed.

“We’re reimagining the academic pillar and sprinkling it throughout,” she says. “We want faculty prepared to teach these topics, making sure research is available, all while we build operational systems. And we’re reestablishing the Committee on Sustainability to bring voices together from across campus. Sustainability shouldn’t ‘live’ in Facilities. Our whole community has a role.”

Every three years, the College submits an AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) STARS report, measuring academics, operations, planning, administration and engagement. The next one is due in March.

“We’ve been collecting data since early fall,” says Killen. “My goal is Gold this year. I think we can get there; now it’s about documentation and making sure systems exist to track it.”

Time in the Sun

Next up is more solar energy on campus.

“We have a solar pavilion,” says Killen. “How do we scale that to impact our campus energy demand? New buildings are easier. We’re diving into grants now to bring money in the door.”

Seventeen bins at TD Arena begat the 47 at Patriots Points and a whole lot more, from green games to cross-campus committees and STARS tracking, from student-driven micro-grants to culture-shaping programs in dining, composting and the circular economy.

“The world is changing whether we want to realize it or not,” Killen said in 2022. “It’s our last chance to do something about it – environmentally, economically or socially. The question is figuring out the best way to take action and create change.”