Subaru Park to become the first zero-landfill stadium in major league soccer

Subaru of America Inc. has announced plans to make Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, a zero-landfill stadium. Called the Subaru Park Zero Landfill Initiative, the company is working with the soccer team Philadelphia Union, which uses the stadium, to become the first Major League Soccer (MLS) Zero Landfill stadium where no trash goes to a landfill. 

“At Subaru, we’ve spent years perfecting our Zero Landfill philosophy, and helping organizations reduce their environmental footprint,” says Alan Bethke, the senior vice president of marketing at Subaru of America Inc. “To become the first Zero Landfill stadium in MLS, we hope our work with the Philadelphia Union will set the standard for environmental best practices at professional sports stadiums nationwide.”

Subaru Park will deploy 111 MAX-R containers throughout various locations in Subaru Park. These three-stream waste containers will help patrons properly dispose of waste from any event at Subaru Park. Subaru will provide ambassadors to help educate fans with waste disposal and share best practices to ensure the containers are used properly. Once the waste is collected, it will be removed with the help of Spectra, Recycle Track Systems Inc. (RTS) and Covanta Environmental Solutions. 

Subaru says that Spectra installed the containers and will ensure that all the material that can be recycled is separated and sent to be processed. 

Items that can’t be recycled, like restroom paper towels and utensils, will be hauled by Recycle Track Systems and sent to Covanta Environmental Solutions. There, the material will generate steam that will turn electric turbines to produce power for the Philadelphia area.

The Subaru Park Zero Landfill initiative is an extension of the Subaru Love Promise. The company’s other programs include the Dogs of Ben, an initiative aimed at helping shelter dogs find homes in the Philadelphia area, and the Garden for Good, intended to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for donation to food banks in Chester during harvesting seasons.

“The partnership between the Union and Subaru of America was founded on the vision and desire to create a better future for our fans and surrounding community,” says Tim McDermott, Philadelphia Union President. “In the year since our partnership was announced, we’ve made great strides in reaching our ambitions through initiatives that support pet adoption and helping food insecure populations. As a club known for innovation and a community first mindset, our mission to achieve Zero Landfill status is a milestone in our relationship with Subaru and the history of our organization.”

In 2019, Subaru Park recycled more than 40,000 pounds or 20.41 tons of cardboard. With the new zero-landfill process in place, Subaru Park will divert an estimated 357,480 pounds of waste from local landfills in an average year, an amount equivalent to a Philadelphia cheesesteak that’s 19 miles high and 50 miles wide or the height of 20 Mount Everests of stacked aluminum cans.