The 2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open has diverted 100 percent of waste away from landfills for the second consecutive year, with a record attendance of 563,008 fans.
The golf tournament is part of UL Environment’s Zero Waste Challenge, and earned 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 event 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.
In total, the combined recycling, composting and waste–to-energy efforts avoided 346 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and recycling efforts conserved:
- 632 mature trees
- 368,690 gallons of water
- 471,248 kWh of electricity
- 969 cubic yards of landfill airspace
Since 2010, the Waste Management Phoenix Open also 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.
Elsewhere in Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Republic Services and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in February hosted Arizona’s first zero-waste Spring Training event as part of an effort to bring awareness to recycling and composting. The one-day event challenged fans to recycle or compost the solid and food wastes they generate during the game instead of sending them to the landfill. The idea for the event was generated by Phoenix’s new long-term sustainability initiative called "Reimagine Phoenix," which encourages residents and businesses to view trash as resources.