Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena divert 3 million pounds of waste from landfills

In April 2022, State Farm Arena became the first sports and live entertainment venue in the world to receive TRUE Platinum certification. Achieving zero waste certification means diverting more than 90% of all waste from landfills and continuing to operate in a sustainable manner.

“We would like to thank everyone who has attended an event at State Farm Arena and our partners for their collaboration and support," said Hawks and State Farm Arena Head of Sustainability Sofi Armenakian in a press release. "Because of you we diverted over 3 million pounds of materials from the landfills in 2023. These materials are valuable resources and need to remain part of a circular system, like aluminum which is infinitely recyclable or cardboard that can be upcycled 5-7 times."

"“We recognize that every action contributes to a more environmentally conscious and responsible future for our city and beyond and are so proud of accomplishing this new milestone within the sports and live entertainment industry,” she said.

State Farm Arena’s zero waste operation accomplished the following in 2023:

The venue recycled nearly 1 million (994,729) pounds of materials. This primarily included aluminum, plastics, cardboard and glass.

State Farm Arena also composted nearly 1 million (939,917) pounds of food and organic material. Any food that could not be donated was composted. Composting is the natural process of turning organic matter, such as food and compostable service ware, into a valuable fertilizer used by local farmers.

The arena reused or donated 752,868 pounds of materials like food, electronics, clothing, crates, and pallets and reduced annual waste by 365,565 pounds by eliminating paper tickets, individual condiment packets and disposable service ware.

All material diverted from the landfill in 2023 totaled more than 3 million pounds.

Earlier this month, the Atlanta Hawks, State Farm Arena and WestRock, a provider of sustainable paper and packaging solutions, announced a multi-year sustainability-focused partnership. WestRock also became the official entitlement partner of State Farm Arena’s Resource Recovery Room (R3), an area dedicated to sorting waste generated during events and housed adjacent to the venue.

Since 2021, the Hawks and State Farm Arena have worked closely with Novelis, a leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, to continue encouraging fans to recycle. At the end of 2021, the Hawks and Novelis unveiled “Full Court Press”, a sculpture made up of nearly 404 pounds of upcycled aluminum cups and cans in the shape of theHawks logo, located on the Terrace level by the Gate 2 entrance.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.