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Allianz Field scores for sustainability with BizRecycling

It's game day for Minnesota United FC. A packed stadium of approximately 19,600 people cheer, clap and chant as players dash across the field. Throughout the event, fans purchase food and drinks. They toss the used cups, containers and wrappers away with their focus still on the game. 

Below the stadium, however, that waste has not been forgotten. A small team of eight people dump the filled bins onto a table and start sorting and separating food scraps and compostable ware (organics), recycling and trash. 

They have been working since halftime and have hours left until all the waste gets correctly sorted. This “Green Team” shows up for every single Minnesota United soccer game, and sorts all of the waste produced into the three streams: organics, recycling and trash. It usually takes them nine hours to sort the waste from one game. 

To help manage this feat, Allianz Field partners with BizRecycling for assistance. BizRecycling provides bin labels in the stadium, so fans know the differences between trash, recycling and organics, and where to put them.  

They have also reduced the amount of trash bins put out in the stadium to encourage fans to recycle and compost first. Many of the vendors who provide food during games use recyclable and compostable wares. 

Although bin signage helps, contamination persists. The Green Team goes through all of the waste bins to remove contaminating items that were wrongly sorted and puts them in the right waste stream. 

Before adding this waste sortation system to their operations, Allianz Field had a 54% waste diversion rate. In other words, 54% of waste was not put in the trash.  

Adding the Green Team to sort waste bins during and after games made a big difference. They started sorting just trash and jumped up to a 71% waste diversion rate. Eventually, they added sorting recyclables and compostable goods. Last year, they averaged 78% waste diversion rate through recycling and composting, which is above the state goal of 75% by 2030 for the Twin Cities metro area. 

Looking ahead, Allianz Field plans to add reusable cups in their premium spaces once they can secure the grant funding.