Arsenal scores with stadium recycling

Paul Boughton

Arsenal football club’s Emirates Stadium in North London has been setting the pace for re-cycling since the venue was completed in 2006 at a cost of £390 million.

Sustainable waste management has been a key element in its environmental strategy. Materials are recycled wherever possible and the use of any materials that are not reusable has been minimised.

The club’s has recycling area fenced off within its underground car park.

Plastic bottles and cups are separated from the waste on match days. This plastic, collected by the cleaning contractor, is then baled and recycled.

A cardboard baler was installed to bale all the cardboard from the catering facilities, shop and programme sellers. Cardboard boxes used for deliveries of stock for the shops are re-used by the suppliers.

On average the club recycles more 10 tonnes per month of cardboard and plastic which would previously have been sent to landfill. Additionally, 32 220 litre wheelie bins are filled with glass after every match. This glass is also recycled meaning that approximately 1.5 tonnes of glass per match is diverted from landfill.

An oil recycling scheme is also operated. All cooking oil wastage is collected and distributed for bio diesel manufacture. It is tracked and traced by authorised collection agents.