Waste Management Phoenix Open achieves zero waste for second year

Even golf carts run on alternative fuel

 

Houston – For the second consecutive year, the Waste Management Phoenix Open has diverted 100 percent of waste away from landfills amid this year’s record attendance of 563,008 fans.

 

As part of its Zero Waste Challenge, the 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open earned UL Environment’s (a business unit of Underwriters Laboratories) landfill waste diversion, or “Zero Waste to Landfill” status, a certification proven through transparent reporting and detailed data. Zero Waste to Landfill is UL Environment’s highest landfill diversion rate designation and recognizes the Waste Management Phoenix Open for achieving a 100 percent landfill diversion rate with 10 percent incineration with energy recovery.

 

The Zero Waste Challenge emphasizes reuse and ensures that all of the waste generated at the event is recycled, composted, or used in waste-to-energy facilities, and that vendors only use products and materials that can be composted or recycled at their end-of-life.

 

“With a largest-ever crowd in attendance, our Zero Waste Challenge lived up to its name, providing a true test of our ingenuity,” said David Aardsma, WM chief sales and marketing officer. “To achieve our goals, the Waste Management Sustainability Services consultants, together with our operations team, worked with vendors and sponsors to put together a comprehensive and very effective plan.”

 

In total, the combined recycling, composting and waste-to-energy efforts avoided 346 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and recycling efforts conserved:

Aardsma added, “Since 2010, the Waste Management Phoenix Open has purchased 100 percent renewable energy from the local utility, meaning that even the golf carts run on alternative energy. In addition, water used by caterers is used again in the portable toilets, and vendors who create signage for the event make them from sustainable materials that can be composted, recycled, or reused year after year.”

 

PHOTO: The Greenest Show on Grass again reached its zero waste goals