The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s trash cans will be transformed into compost bins this football season, as the 90,000-seat facility attempts to achieve “zero waste” status in collaboration with USC’s Office of Sustainability. USC Trojan football fans will either recycle or compost their used water bottles, hot dog holders, plates and cups in all 117 Coliseum trash cans given new life as containers holding contents bound for the farm, not the landfill.
Industry standards define zero waste as diverting 90 percent or more of waste materials from the landfill or incinerator through recycling, composting or repurposing. The initiative builds on the university’s efforts to reduce the tons of waste produced each game day at the 92-year-old Coliseum, the ninth largest college football stadium.
“Today, we’re glad to support sustainability efforts like the zero waste initiative and the university’s Green Office certification program,” said USC Athletic Director Pat Haden. “Implementing environmentally responsible practices, which can be as simple as carpooling or using a refillable water bottle, on game day and throughout the year is the right thing to do.”