Subaru of America and Philadelphia Union to Make Subaru Park the First-Ever Zero Landfill Stadium in MLS

CHESTER, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc., in partnership with the Philadelphia Union, today announced that the automaker will bring its established zero landfill knowledge to Subaru Park, home of the Union, making it the first zero landfill stadium in MLS.

While sports stadiums across the country generate massive amounts of trash that go into landfills, through the partnership with Subaru and the Union, Subaru Park aims to become the first MLS Zero Landfill stadium where no trash is sent to a landfill. This initiative ladders up to the core commitment of Subaru and Philadelphia Union to use their partnership to beautify and enhance the greater Philadelphia community through pillars of the Subaru Love Promise.

"At Subaru, we've spent years perfecting our Zero Landfill philosophy and helping organizations reduce their environmental footprint. We've learned a lot, and we're thrilled to bring our knowledge to Subaru Park and the greater Philadelphia area," said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Subaru of America, Inc. "With the goal of becoming the first Zero Landfill stadium in MLS, we hope our work with the Philadelphia Union will set the standard for environmental best practices at professional sports stadiums nationwide."  

"The partnership between the Union and Subaru of America was founded on the vision and desire to create a better future for our fans and surrounding community," said Tim McDermott, Philadelphia Union President. "In the year since our partnership was announced, we've made great strides in reaching our ambitions through initiatives that support pet adoption and helping food insecure populations. As a club known for innovation and a community-first mindset, our mission to achieve Zero Landfill status is a milestone in our relationship with Subaru and the history of our organization." 

To put this new process into perspective, Subaru Park recycled more than 40,000 pounds or 20.41 tons of cardboard alone in 2019. With the new zero landfill process in place, Subaru Park will divert an estimated 357,480 pounds of waste from local landfills in an average year, an amount equivalent to:

• A Philadelphia cheesesteak that's 19 miles high and 50 miles wide
• The weight of 357,480 soccer balls
• The height of 20 Mt. Everests-worth of stacked aluminum cans

To achieve this goal, Subaru Park will deploy 111 MAX-R Containers throughout various locations in Subaru Park. These new, modern front-of-house three-stream waste containers will help patrons properly dispose of their waste from any event at Subaru Park. To ensure that the containers are being used properly, Subaru will provide ambassadors to help educate fans with waste disposal and share Subaru Zero Landfill project best practices. Once the waste is collected in the MAX-R containers, the Union will be assisted in the waste removal process with the help of Spectra, Recycle Track Systems, Inc. (RTS), and Covanta Environmental Solutions. 

Spectra has been instrumental in helping set up Subaru Park to be successful, putting new containers in place, educating their staff, and ensuring that all the material that can be recycled is separated and sent to be processed. The small amount of waste that can't be recycled, such as restroom paper towels, utensils, and other items, will be hauled by Recycle Track systems and sent to Covanta Environmental Solutions where the material will be used to generate steam that will turn the turbines to produce electricity for the Philadelphia area.

Subaru and the Union are committed to supporting the greater Philadelphia community with charitable programs, including the Subaru Park Zero Landfill initiative announced today, which is an extension of the Subaru Love Promise. The pairing's other endeavors include the Dogs of Ben, an initiative aimed at helping shelter dogs find homes in the Philadelphia area, and the Garden for Good, which is intended to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for donation to food banks in Chester during harvesting seasons.

To learn more about Subaru Park Zero Landfill Initiative, please visit: www.philadelphiaunion.com/Subaru.

About Subaru Zero Landfill Efforts
Subaru has a long history of sustainability and environmentalism. In 2004, Subaru of Indiana Automotive became the first automotive manufacturing plant in America to achieve Zero Landfill status. That means the Subaru factory reduces, reuses, and recycles all of its waste, thereby putting no trash or waste into a landfill. In fact, Subaru is dedicated to helping other businesses and organizations achieve the same zero waste status, and has freely shared this knowledge with over 800 companies worldwide to help make the world a better place.

About Subaru of America, Inc.  
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $200 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 63,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union is an innovative, forward-thinking professional soccer club competing in Major League Soccer (MLS) and one of Philadelphia's five major league sports teams. Driven by unprecedented fan support, MLS awarded the Philadelphia expansion franchise rights to Jay Sugarman in 2008 and the Union kicked off its inaugural season in 2010. The club has reached the finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2014, 2015 and 2018, and has appeared in the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. In 2020, the Union were awarded the club's first Supporters' Shield after finishing with the best regular season record in MLS.

The Philadelphia Union is part of parent company Keystone Sports and Entertainment LLC, which also operates USL Championship side Philadelphia Union II, the Philadelphia Union Academy, Philadelphia Union Foundation and Philadelphia Union Youth Programs. With a commitment to developing talent from the Delaware Valley, the Union has signed nine local players from their academy to a first team contract.

The Union play at Subaru Park in Chester, PA on the banks of the Delaware River. The custom-built stadium is part of the Union's unique waterfront campus, featuring a historic power plant rebuilt into a 400,000 sq. ft. creative office building, a state-of-the-art Training Complex, over 7 acres of professional-grade practice pitches and multiple onsite parking fields. For more information about the Philadelphia Union, visit www.philadelphiaunion.com and follow @PhilaUnion on Twitter or Instagram.

MEDIA CONTACT FOR PHILADELPHIA UNION:
Amanda Young Curtis, (484) 686-5718 (cell); [email protected]
Erica Scheer, (617) 817-4014 (cell); [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT FOR SUBARU OF AMERICA:
Dominick Infante, Director, Corporate Communications (856) 488-8615; [email protected]  
Diane Anton, Corporate Communications Manager (856) 488-5093; [email protected] 

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.

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