Dive Brief:

• The Buffalo Bills have partnered with Republic Services for the third year to increase recycling participation at games, which will help keep the parking lot at Ralph Wilson Stadium clean while encouraging sustainability efforts among guests.
• At each home game, the Guest Services "Blue Team" hands out complimentary blue recycling bags and black garbage bags to tailgaters, which fans are asked to leave at the edge of the tailgating area after use. 
• Last year, fans collected 300 tons of waste and more than 30 tons of recyclables with the complimentary bags. The carbon emissions reduction benefits from this collection were equal to planting more than 600 trees in the local environment, according to the Bills' website. 

Dive Insight:

The Buffalo Bills is not the first NFL team to boost sustainability efforts with a big-name partner. Last month, the Detroit Lions announced that the team is partnering with Repreve for a second year to help promote recycling at Lions games. By staying conscious of how much waste is generated at football games, these NFL teams are making an enormously positive impact on the environment. 

"Republic Services has been a great and caring partner in enhancing the efficiency and ease for fans to discard their trash and recyclables in the Bills controlled parking lots," said Andy Major, Bills vice president of operations and guest services.

Republic Services Area President Jeff Burdick has agreed that the partnership is beneficial, stating​ that Republic is "proud to partner with the Bills organization and fans."

For the past two seasons, Ralph Wilson Stadium has been a landfill-free arena — any waste that cannot be recycled is turned into renewable energy. The Bills reported that last season, Ralph Wilson Stadium produced enough renewable energy to power more than 170 area homes for one month.