CITY PARTNERS WITH LUCAS OIL STADIUM & CONSECO FIELDHOUSE IN EPA-FUNDED SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

New Program Will Enhance Recycling Participation At Sports Venues

The City of Indianapolis is partnering with Lucas Oil Stadium and Conseco Fieldhouse to implement a plan that will increase recycling participation at the City’s largest sports facilities. In sponsorship of the effort, Indianapolis has been awarded $42,600 in grant funding by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Resource Conservation Challenge Program.

“A more sustainable city is a more livable city,” said Mayor Greg Ballard. “Partnerships like this are vital to creating an environment in which residents and visitors alike can recreate while contributing to a brighter future for Indianapolis. Increasing the availability of recycling is a simple way we can encourage our sports fans and City visitors to participate. I commend our partners for their commitment to quality of life in Indianapolis and making our city one of the most sustainable in the Midwest.”

The Enhanced Sports Stadium Recycling Program includes support from the City’s Office of Sustainability, Lucas Oil Stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse, the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee, Indiana Sports Corp., the Indiana Recycling Coalition and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. As part of Mayor Ballard’s continuing effort to make Indianapolis one of the most sustainable cities in the Midwest, in its mission to increase recycling participation within the City’s sports stadiums, the program also seeks to improve the overall attitude of recycling at these facilities.

The overall objectives of the program at both facilities are to:



· Identify recyclables in the current waste stream

· Develop and implement a holistic recycling education campaign

· Increase awareness of recycling options

· Increase recycling tonnage and improve the facilities’ environmental impact

Both facilities have established recycling programs. Materials collected include aluminum cans, steel food containers, glass bottles, plastic cups, paper and cardboard. The Enhanced Sports Stadium Recycling Program will focus on increased collection of beverage containers including plastic, aluminum and glass.

According to the National Association for PET Container Recycling (NAPCOR), visitors to indoor sports venues typically utilize two beverage containers at events. Based upon NAPCOR estimates, one event in Conseco Fieldhouse with 18,000 visitors could generate more than five and a half tons of recycling. Any and all enhancements to recycling in these facilities will have a huge environmental benefit as well as improve employees’ and visitors’ attitudes towards recycling.

For more information about how Mayor Ballard is creating a more sustainable Indianapolis, visit www.SustainIndy.org.