Creating a greener game day

Over the years, a growing emphasis on sustainability within sports has led to partnerships between Houston-based waste and recycling company WM and various professional sports leagues, teams and venues across the U.S.

From annual major events like the WM Phoenix Open and the MLB All-Star Game to long-term collaborations with teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Florida Panthers, WM and its partners aim to reduce waste, increase reuse and recycling efforts and move the needle on other sustainability initiatives, such as water use and emissions reductions.

“Greenest Show on Grass”

In 2010, WM secured the title sponsorship for the WM Phoenix Open, providing a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on sustainability while reaching a broader audience.

“At that time, we were trying to figure out how to build a zero-waste event at one of the largest sporting events on the planet, and, three years later, we officially earned our third-party Zero Waste certification from UL,” says Eric Dixon, vice president of sustainability and environmental solutions at WM.

Since then, WM has continued to expand its sustainability efforts at what it calls the “Greenest Show on Grass.”

At the 2023 WM Phoenix Open, in partnership with the Thunderbirds, tournament vendors and the PGA Tour, WM diverted 100 percent of materials from landfill. Additionally, 18.9 tons of unused, perishable food were donated to local nonprofits, 970 pounds of wine and liquor bottles were turned into reusable glassware by Refresh Glass, 62 percent of signage from previous tournaments was reused, 67 percent of signage was stored for reuse at future tournaments, about 15 tons of mesh fencing were upcycled into new WM carts made by Monterey, California-based Rehrig Pacific Co. and 32.6 tons of building materials were donated to local organizations.

The WM Phoenix Open’s zero-waste program also received its seventh Golf Environment Organization tournament certification and its 11th consecutive UL validation from UL Research Institute, based in Evanston, Illinois.

These accomplishments, along with many others, encouraged WM to explore how it could help other sporting events, teams and venues achieve their sustainability goals, Dixon says.

Recruiting team players

In 2018, WM began forming other sports partnerships across the country.

Now, the company is working with four sports leagues, 24 venues and 11 golf tournaments. Through these partnerships, WM promotes its zero-waste strategy, engages millions of fans and helps its partners extend their sustainability efforts beyond traditional waste management to include water conservation, energy efficiency, emissions reductions and other sustainability initiatives.

“I’m a big fan of a phased approach because trying to do everything [the first game] of a season is a challenge,” Dixon says. “It is important to understand where you are on your sustainability journey and then collaborate with us to build a strategy. It is about getting some wins early on and then taking the data from those Phase 1 wins to determine what you are going to tackle in Phase 2 and beyond. That ongoing engagement and continuous improvement can go a long way.”

To set these partners up for success, WM first conducts a comprehensive life cycle analysis to understand what materials are coming in and out of each event. Using this data, WM determines a plan of action that could include incorporating more recyclable and compostable materials, separating different types of materials on the front end so they are easier to process on the back end, properly training staff on sustainability efforts and providing guidance to fans through interactive experiences and signage.

WM then works with its partners to monitor diversion rates, greenhouse gas emissions and other metrics to track progress and adjust where necessary.

Some of WM’s newest partners, such as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Monsters, are working to implement sustainability strategies and working toward meaningful, data-driven results.

“WM is a collaborative partner supporting the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Monsters in several ways, including helping us identify our waste streams, respond quickly to contamination challenges and providing us with reliable data,” says Danielle Doza, vice president of sustainability and environmental services for the Cavaliers. “WM’s sustainability advisors also are working closely with us to develop better operating procedures, train team members and explore more effective ways to educate and engage fans.”

She says the Cavaliers are working toward energy conservation and efficiency, as well as behavior change and materials management.

“We want to understand the materials coming into the arena and find ways to responsibly manage them,” Doza says. “This includes reducing waste sent to landfills, diverting more recyclable materials, back-of-house composting and creating a clean, valuable recycling stream.

“We also aim to influence the behavior of our team members and fans through education and engagement. The biggest impact we can make within our community is behavior change.”

Florida expansion

Another notable WM partnership is with the Florida Panthers at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

In 2022, the team faced waste management challenges and could not contract its own hauler because of a franchise agreement with the city. However, the team was able to contract out its recycling services with WM, which services the area.

Working closely with WM, the team improved its waste management strategies, built a recycling program and transformed its compactor room to run like a mini material recovery facility.

“We purchased a baler and, since May 2023, have been sorting and baling materials like cardboard, aluminum and plastic on-site,” says Michael Prairie, director of sustainability and business optimization for the Florida Panthers. “To understand how this baler could work in our compactor room and assist with sustainability goals, we took staff to visit WM’s recycling facility in Pembroke Pines. We realized waste management was low-hanging fruit for us and, by making a small investment and change in habits, we could potentially make a larger environmental and economic impact.”

The partnership provides the Panthers with data needed to improve processes and explore additional initiatives, such as solar, composting and scaling its efforts across other venues and regions in south Florida, Prairie says, including the team’s new practice rink.

“There is a huge opportunity to make a difference in waste management and recycling in south Florida, and we hope to lead by example through our ongoing sustainability efforts,” he says.

Engaging fans

Fans, who often have deep emotional connections with teams, also can play a crucial role in sustainability efforts. By participating in educational initiatives developed by WM and its partners, fans can change their behavior related to waste reduction and recycling.

At Cavaliers games, in-arena messaging is used to influence behavior change. Similarly, at Panthers games, educational videos featuring players and mascots are shown before each game, demonstrating items that can and cannot be recycled. Panthers fans also can scan QR codes on aluminum cups to learn more about recycling efforts on a microsite.

Both teams host interactive fan activations, such as the “Will It Recycle?” timeout game, where fans are encouraged to practice recycling for a chance to win a trip to the WM Phoenix Open. At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, the WM Member Seat experience upgrades two fans to a couch made from upcycled commercial containers, featuring them on the Humongotron.

These hands-on experiences aim to instill a sense of responsibility among fans to do the right thing while making recycling fun and engaging, Dixon says.

Over the past three years, WM has tripled the number of leagues, teams and venues it partners with, and the company says it doesn’t have plans to slow down anytime soon.

Through new and ongoing partnerships, data-driven strategies and education initiatives, WM says it remains committed to supporting the sports industry in achieving its sustainability goals.

The author is event and content producer for Recycling Today Media Group and can be reached at mszczepanski@ gie.net. A version of this story originally ran in the January/February 2025 edition of Waste Today, a sister publication to Recycling Today.