ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks said Wednesday a program at State Farm Arena to divert waste from landfills had resulted in the diversion of more than 2.5 million pounds of waste in 2022.
The total more than doubled their reported total from 2021. The arena became TRUE Platinum certified for zero waste last year.
According to a release, part of the diversion total included nearly one million pounds of recycled materials such as aluminum, cardboard, plastics and glass.
The team said another 734,775 pounds of food and organic material was composted; 610,656 pounds of food and other materials were reused or donated and, through the elimination of paper tickets and other disposables at the arena, reduced the annual waste at State Farm Arena by 160,054 pounds.
“We are so grateful for our fans, concertgoers and partners who have helped us continue setting a new standard in the sports and live entertainment industry and beyond,” Hawks and State Farm Arena Head of Sustainability Sofi Armenakian said in a statement. “For us, it has always been about consistency and intent behind the decisions that enable us to operate zero waste, and we are always looking for ways to continue innovating. As we all strive to be part of the solution, we know that together, we can continue diverting more waste from landfills, and we continue to ask fans to join us outside the walls of our venue on this forever journey to operate more sustainably in their daily lives.”
The TRUE Platinum zero waste certification requires diverting more than 90 percent of waste from landfills through a building's operations.