Tailgate areas lots a garbage heaven

Fans filling Memorial Stadium and flocking to the grass between the Alumni Center and Indiana Avenue Saturday will have two things on their minds: beating Purdue and having a good time doing it.\nBut what about the day after that? \nForgotten in the intensity of the day, soda bottles, candy wrappers and leftover tailgating food will sit until Sunday morning when a crew of community members will tackle the mess left after more than 50,000 fans flood IU's north side.\n"Well, we take care of it," said Prentice Parker, IU athletics outdoor events coordinator. \nFor more than 20 years, Parker has headed the Sunday morning clean-up crew, made up of an assortment of groups including restitution workers, Bloomington High School South's wrestling team, Monroe County Fire Co. and other groups on various weekends. Except for the restitution workers, the workers make money to contribute to their groups. \nThe job takes about five hours, from 7 a.m. to noon, and afterwards, Hoosier Disposal hauls away a total of 6 tons of trash collected from the grounds during the weekend, Parker said.\nIU Assistant Athletics Director Kit Klingelhoffer said IU has been taking steps to encourage fans to clean up their own messes by handing out free trash bags in the tailgating areas.\n"We've been trying to be very proactive," he said.\nKlingelhoffer said he believes giving away trash bags has helped, and the amount of trash left on the ground has decreased. He still hopes people will be more diligent in picking up their trash, though.\nKaren Freeman, a firefighter and assistant medical officer with the Clay Township Monroe County Fire Co., has helped clean the grounds with her volunteer fire company after several games. Sunday will make her fourth game. She suspects this game's aftermath might be more difficult to clean than others, considering the hype of the rivalry and the large amount of people.\n"I've got a feeling it's going to be a doozy, this one," Freeman said. "We kind of expect quite a bit, but that's OK."\nShe and the other firefighters make the best out of their time cleaning up, she said. "There's always a lot of food laying around, and we always joke, 'Hey, here's an extra hot dog, you want one?'" \n"We make it a fun time," she said, "but it is hard work. It's hard on your back."\nFreeman is amazed at the things she and her group have found in the grass by Indiana Avenue where people usually tailgate, she said. They have found a gas grill, coolers and a box of uneaten turkey legs, to name a few.\nShe has also noticed the trash bags that have been handed out.\n"There's always empty trash bags laying around," she said. "It's like, 'Put that stuff in the trash bag. It's right there.'"\nParker expressed his annoyance at different items he finds when cleaning up.\n"Everybody's going to go to a football game and they're going to enjoy themselves," he said. "The only problem I see that I don't like is when people are drinking, I wish they'd either use cans or plastic -- I hate the glass bottles when they get broke on the grounds. It's just difficult to pick up."\nOn game day, though, with the rest of the IU fans, his mind will be on another matter.\n"The main thing is that we beat Purdue," he said.