Rubicon part of University of Kentucky recycling efforts

Recycling consultancy Rubicon Technologies LLC and University of Kentucky (UK) Athletics have announced a new marketing and strategic partnership designed to help the Lexington, Kentucky-based athletics department reach its sustainability goals.

Rubicon says it has been named the first Official Sustainability Partner of UK Athletics. The partnership will include joint efforts to promote new awareness around reducing, reusing and recycling.

Initial signs of the partnership and joint commitment to sustainability will be evident on waste and recycling bins throughout UK’s athletic facilities, says Rubicon. Additionally, Rubicon will become the new presenting sponsor of UK Recycling’s “Big Blue Crew,” as well as the presenting sponsor of the Rubicon “Green” Lot, a parking lot directly adjacent to the university’s football stadium, Kroger Field.

On its website, Rubicon says its programs address numerous materials, including old cardboard containers (OCC), plastic, paper, metal, glass, electronics, construction and demolition (C&D) materials and organics such as food waste and other compostable materials.

“UK Athletics is committed to operating a world-class program in all that we do,” says UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart. “That includes our efforts to achieve sustainability at Kroger Field, Rupp Arena, and all of our athletics facilities. This partnership with Rubicon will help us do just that.”

Rubicon was founded in Kentucky by Nate Morris, the company’s current chairman and CEO, and is now based in Lexington. “The University of Kentucky means so much to me, as well as to the entire commonwealth,” says Morris. “We are proud to partner with UK Athletics in our joint efforts to promote new awareness around reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. We are eager to help accelerate the university’s strategy to move toward zero waste highlighted in the Sustainability Strategic Plan.”

University of Kentucky graduate and benefactor C.M. “Bill” Gatton was an early investor in Rubicon and is a strong supporter of the company, says the firm. “Nate Morris is an extraordinary young man with a unique vision, and Rubicon is a strong example of a company with deep Kentucky ties reimagining industry in America,” says Gatton. “This partnership will be great for the University of Kentucky, great for Rubicon and great for Kentucky.”

Morris, in turn, endowed the Presidential Fellows Program at the Gatton College of Business and Economics at UK in 2019.