Waste Management Phoenix Open Achieves Zero Waste for Second Year
World’s highest-attended golf tournament earns UL’s Zero Waste status
HOUSTON - June 30, 2014 ;- For the second consecutive year, the Waste Management (NYSE: WM) 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, Waste Management 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:
- 632 mature trees
- 368,690 gallons of water
- 471,248 kilowatt-hours of electricity
- 969 cubic yards of landfill airspace
Highlighting some of the other unique sustainability efforts at the event, 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."
About The Zero Waste Challenge
In 2012, Waste Management launched the Zero Waste Challenge, an initiative aimed at controlling materials brought into the event. The company has continued the Challenge as part of its company-wide effort to reach its goal of tripling the amount of recyclable materials it manages annually by the year 2020 and extracting more value from all of the materials the company manages.
Waste Management this year added Zero Waste Stations to the event, where attendees dropped off used materials, such as cans, plates and utensils, for proper disposal. The stations, made of converted roll-off dumpsters, were staffed with volunteers from the community, including non-profit organizations that assisted with volunteer management and received donations from Waste Management in exchange for their time.
In March, the Waste Management Phoenix Open was named Project of the Year by Environmental Leader, in its Product & Project Awards, for its commitment to environmental sustainability.
Waste Management’s Partnership with the Phoenix Open
Waste Management has been a partner of the Phoenix Open for 14 years, providing waste, recycling, and portable restroom services. As the title sponsor, Waste Management, in partnership with the PGA TOUR and The Thunderbirds, is dedicated to making the Waste Management Phoenix Open the greenest tournament on the PGA TOUR. The tournament has also become a major platform for showcasing Waste Management Think Green solutions, including the Four Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle and recover.
During this tournament’s 79-year history, more than $86 million has been raised for local charities. Both Waste Management and the Thunderbirds are particularly impressed with the fundraising they have achieved over the last ten years, reaching more than $60 million since 2004.
ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are the largest residential recycler and also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill-gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more visit www.wm.com.
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