Phoenix partners with Denali to divert Super Bowl food waste

The city of Phoenix, which will host Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12, is looking to minimize discarded food waste from game-day events.

With thousands of football fans anticipated to flock to Arizona’s capital for the game, at least 2,000 tons of food waste is expected to be generated at Super Bowl-related events. As reported by Bloomberg, the city is aiming to divert at least 90 percent of that trash and food away from landfills as part of a larger mission to make this year’s event zero waste.

The Phoenix Public Works Department is at the center of this effort. The department has enlisted the help of Russellville, Arkansas-based Denali Water Solutions LLC, which operates 36 composting facilities across the U.S. Denali and the city of Phoenix hope the initiative promotes sustainable practices at sporting events across the country, which produce roughly 39 million pounds of waste every year, according to a 2014 EPA estimate.

Although the initiative doesn’t apply to State Farm Stadium—where this year’s Super Bowl will take place—the National Football League (NFL) is working with the stadium to minimize single-use plastic, as well as ensure that discarded food is used for animal feed.

Jack Groh, director of NFL Green, the organization’s environmental initiative, tells Bloomberg a typical NFL game can produce an average of 30 to 40 tons of solid waste.

This is Pheonix’s second attempt at this type of diversion goal, using a similar tactic when the city hosted the Super Bowl in 2015. While Phoenix was only able to diver roughly 72 percent of game-day trash that year, short of its 80 percent goal, Mayor Kate Gallego told Bloomberg it was a “very significant figure” at the time.

Denali and Phoenix officials have yet to determine exactly how much waste will be diverted away from landfill over the weekend.