Recycling is the most common of all environmentally preferable activities, but it can sometimes be difficult to design an effective and efficient program, especially in large stadiums.

Your current waste haulers may be valuable sources of information. Also consider joining the EPA’s free WasteWise program, which provides members with several benefits, including a technical assistance team that will help you conduct a waste audit, reduce waste, and implement a recycling program. In addition, you may find it helpful to engage concession operators when implementing your stadium’s recycling program.

For listings of recycling service providers near Toronto, visit Earth 911’s Business Resources directory and the Environmental Yellow Pages.

For a comprehensive discussion on waste and use reduction, see EPA’s Business Guide for Reducing Solid Waste

Recycling and composting can save money through avoided disposal and hauling costs. although market conditions may vary by material and by region. Many recyclable items can also be sold on the market and act as a source of revenue. A waste audit can help your team identify these potential savings and revenue opportunities. Many companies have found significant savings through their own efforts to increase recycling.

The Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, NY implemented a variety of recycling and waste reduction measures, including the recycling of its cardboard and plastic wastes. These measures reduced annual waste generation by over 50%, saving over $25,000 a year in hauling costs.

The San Diego Wild Animal Park generates over 23,000 tons of waste annually but discards only 4% of this waste into landfills. It has implemented a comprehensive composting program for organic waste and has distributed recycling containers throughout the park, in addition to many other programs. In total, these efforts save over $1 million dollars in tipping and hauling fees each year.

Recycling is one of the easiest and most widely accepted activities used to advance sustainability. It is relatively simple and painless and a great way to involve staff at all levels in your team’s environmental priorities. Recycling protects habitat, saves energy, water, and resources such as trees, oil, and metals. By recycling paper, cardboard, metals, and plastics, you can help reduce the harmful impacts associated with the extraction of these resources, including oil spills, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and water pollution. Manufacturing products from recycled content is less polluting than producing the same products from newly harvested or extracted materials. Making paper from recycled fibers, for example, uses less energy, less water, and produces less air and water pollution.

EPA - Recycling
National Recycling Coalition
Recycling Environmental Benefits Calculator
EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) Calculator
Comprehensive Guide to Venue and Event Recycling
EPA – Stadium Recycling: How to get started
Recycling Advocates – A Guide to Reducing Waste at Any Event
WasteWise – How to Start or Expand a Recycling Program
Minnesota Guide to Source Reduction