Super Bowl Parties Produce Tons of Trash. Phoenix Is Hoping to Fix That
For Super Bowl LVII, Phoenix is partnering with an Arkansas startup to divert 2,000 tons of football-party food waste from landfills.
Trash on the street in Philadelphia after the Eagles' Super Bowl LII victory parade in 2018.
Photographer: Corey Perrine/Getty ImagesSuper Bowl LVII, which goes down between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12, is sure to feature trash talk. But host city Phoenix is aiming to minimize the amount of actual trash from game-day events that ends up in landfills.
Officials anticipate Phoenix hosting hundreds of thousands of football fans this weekend; the city's Sky Harbor airport expects foot traffic on the day after the game to be 50% higher than usual. With all those visitors, at least 2,000 tons of food waste is expected to come out of events sponsored by the Phoenix Super Bowl Host Committee. The city is aiming to divert at least 90% of that trash and food away from landfills as part of a larger mission to make this year’s big game “zero waste.”