EPA, NFL team up for 2nd year of Pro Bowl recycling effort

(02/09/07) HONOLULU - To encourage recycling at sporting events, the E.P.A., the Countrywide Football League and other partners will collect and recycle bottles and cans in the parking lot of Aloha Stadium during Pro Bowl 2007 on Feb. 10.

The EPA, Countrywide Football League, Boys and Girls Clubs of Hawaii, Honolulu Recovery Systems, and Aloha Stadium will participate in the effort. Like last year, cans and bottles will be collected for recycling from the stadium's surrounding parking lot areas designated for tailgating.

This year the effort will expand collection to include additional parking lot areas, with the goal to collect over 12,000 cans and bottles, yielding $600 through deposit rebates. Community Energy, a green energy marketer and developer, has committed to match the money raised, with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hawaii.

"Concerts and sporting events provide a great opportunity to reinforce the importance of recycling," said Jeff Scott, division director for the E.P.A. Pacific Southwest Region's Waste Division. "In addition to conserving valuable resources, recycling reduces greenhouse gas and other emissions."

To make the Pro Bowl a carbon neutral event, Community Energy is also donating renewable energy credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions from the Pro Bowl and the NFL Pro Bowl Tailgate Party. The E.P.A. will work with the NFL to calculate the net carbon savings from its Pro Bowl activities.

To further "green" the Pro Bowl the NFL will be sponsoring tree-planting plans at several schools. One of the schools has even committed to develop a tree nursery at their school to raise native species trees. The 1st of these efforts takes place at Jarrett Middle School in Honolulu. Other tree plantings will take place at Punahou School in Honolulu and on the west side of Oahu at Maili Elementary School.

The Pro Bowl recycling event is one of many public space recycling plans undertaken by EPA's "Recycle on the Go" program. Recycle on the Go encourages recycling at concerts, sporting events and other locations, by working with partners to encourage people to recycle wherever they go by making recycling easy and convenient. The E.P.A. and Aloha Stadium authorities will meet after Pro Bowl 2007 to discuss how to further "green" Aloha Stadium.

E.P.A. is working toward a goal of a 35 percent recycling rate nationwide. Recycling saves energy, conserves resources, reduces the need for new landfills and incinerators, and stimulates the development of green technologies.

For more information about Recycle on the Go, please visit http://www.epa.gov/recycleonthego.

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