Hawks, State Farm Arena Divert 2M Pounds of Waste
In 2022, the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena were active in promoting sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint.
By any measure, it’s a staggering amount.
In 2022, the Hawks and State Farm Arena were able to divert more than 2,503,745 pounds of all waste (this included nearly one million pounds of materials such as aluminum, cardboard, plastics, and glass) from landfills throughout its yearlong slate of basketball games, concerts and ancillary events.
Now, the franchise, in conjunction with the award-winning venue, is trying to help the public conceptualize and further appreciate the impressive milestone by equating the weight of 2.5 million pounds of recycled items to that of 10 million peaches. Indeed, when it comes to sustainability and environmentalism, presenting the empirical results in a relatable manner is critical for sparking interest among the masses.
“Not every guest that comes into the building knows about recycling,” Sofi Armenakian, head of sustainability for the Atlanta Hawks, told the Atlanta Jewish Times in a recent interview. “Some may not care so much about it. We’re in the southeast—we don’t have an infrastructure that supports what we do. We often refer to our arena as a green bubble because you walk into our building and you see consistency. Every bin is set up with intent.”
For years now, the Hawks have been at the vanguard of massive-scale sustainability efforts. Last April, State Farm Arena became the first sports and entertainment arena to become TRUE Platinum certified for zero waste, a mark that signifies diverting more than 90 percent of all waste from landfills while continuing to operate in a sustainable fashion.
And the banner year that was 2022 was one in which the Hawks not only recycled close to a million pounds of aluminum (this can be recycled instantly), cardboard (it can be reused a half-dozen times), plastics, and glass, but also composted 734,775 pounds of food and organic material (a process whereby organic matter is transformed into fertilizer for local farmers), reused or donated 610,656 pounds of materials including food, electronics, and clothing, and further limited annual waste by doing away with paper tickets.
Armenakian was quick to note, “Food is never wasted. Our No. 1 priority is to donate. If it can’t be, then we definitely compost.”
Meanwhile, the jam-packed concert schedule translated to hundreds, if not thousands, of early-arriving patrons parting with their soon-to-be-donated chairs and blankets upon entry to the building.
Going back a little earlier in the decade, since summer 2021, the Hawks and State Farm Arena have partnered with Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, to continue motivating hoops fans and concertgoers to recycle. The collaboration to promote sustainability, mindful recycling, and a circular economy culminated in the recent unveiling of “FULL COURT PRESS,” a 400-pound sculpture consisting of upcycled aluminum cups and cans resemblant of the primary Hawks logo, now located on the Terrace level by the Gate 2 entrance.
Forging the 2021 partnership with Novelis, eclipsing the 2.5-million-pound mark in 2022, and implementing 2023 goals, the chief of which will involve leveraging automation technology to streamline processes, naturally involve great ingenuity and foresight.
“My passion has always been about doing something that hasn’t been done and doing the right thing and doing things in a really efficient way,” said Armenakian, who previously worked in the retail and consulting industries before serving as the manager of event conversions and sustainability at AMB Sports + Entertainment from which she segued to her current post with the Hawks.
“It was really exciting that the intersection of sports and sustainability still has so much opportunity. Sustainability is about innovation and it’s continuing to evolve.”
But Armenakian is the first to acknowledge that 2.5 million pounds also represents an untold number of manhours performing the not so glamorous work of digging through one scrap heap after another in search of the discarded Coke can that found its way into the wrong bin. The inconvenient truth is that for many members of the public—although certainly not all—there is a feeling of apathy when it comes to making the extra effort to recycle properly, which makes for long evenings for State Farm Arena’s Zero Waste Squad, a noble team of employees that toils tirelessly to rid the building of unused waste.
Armenakian is hoping that the efforts on behalf of the Hawks and State Farm Arena go a long way toward serving as a paradigm for how other multi-purpose venues can operate in a more environmentally conscious fashion while raising awareness of environmental sustainability both internally and externally.
“There’s just a lack of infrastructure that supports that behavior, especially in the Southeast where it’s just not the norm,” she reiterated. “I’m hopeful places are starting to implement things.”
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