When the Huskies are winning, tons of smashed cans and bottles are left behind by game-going fans, said Merle Mister, who has worked for the NIU Grounds Department for 27 years.

Mister, as well as everyone else in his department, is responsible for cleaning up all the aluminum cans and half-eaten bratwurst they see left behind at every game.

Huskies football fans can leave as much as 30 tons of garbage around the stadium, said Darryl Grayson, assistant to the superintendent of grounds.

The department has plans set up for before, during and after the game to make sure NIU is clean, Grayson said.

As many as 100 oil drums of garbage can be filled during one Huskie game.

Garbage is everywhere because of tailgaters, Grayson said. Some tailgaters don’t dump garbage into the cans or barrels, even though receptacles are located around the stadium and in the parking lots.

Three-fourths of tailgaters use the cans or garbage bags to dispose it, Grayson said. He said the rest will just throw the garbage on the ground.

The Grounds Department has a team of 14 workers, including Mister, whose mission is to provide an attractive, enjoyable and safe environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors – not only during the football season, but throughout the whole year.

Six grounds employees come before the game to clean and after they leave, four other grounds workers work the game setting up tents. After the game is over, these four are replaced by four more workers who pick up trash and take down tents.

More workers come the morning after a football game to pick up any leftover trash, Grayson said.

After the garbage is collected, it is dumped at the DeKalb County Landfill, Mister said.

Workers are paid overtime for the extra time needed on the weekends to clean up after games, Grayson said.

There always is a lot of garbage, regardless if NIU loses or wins, because people always have reasons to drink, Grayson said.