Recycling cuts arena's waste stream

RALEIGH -- The color scheme in the RBC Center is red, but the sports arena is going green.

The RBC Center is stepping up its recycling efforts to keep thousands of empty plastic bottles from choking trash cans and eventually piling up in landfills. And hockey fans are sipping beer from environmentally friendly disposable cups that degrade more quickly when they do go to the landfill.

It's part of a broader effort to slow the river of reusable waste flowing into landfills. Starting next year, a state law will require bars, restaurants and all facilities that serve alcoholic beverages to start recycling plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans.

At the RBC Center, a deluge of plastic -- up to 4,000 bottles per game that go to landfills and don't biodegrade -- occurred after the arena switched last year from serving fountain drinks to bottled sodas. As a result, the arena's recycling program, which was aimed primarily at cans and glass bottles, needed expanding.

"There was a tremendous amount of waste being generated with the plastic bottles," said Dan McGowan, operations manager of the RBC Center. "We felt that was an easy fix to revamp the recycling program."

The arena obtained a $10,000 waste reduction grant from Wake County and placed dozens of blue recycling bins around the building for thirsty fans. Now more than 100 bins dot the concourses, and workers empty them into two-wheeled recycling carts during events. Once collected, the plastic bottles go to a large compactor. A waste hauler takes the crushed bottles to a materials recovery facility.

McGowan said the goal is to reduce waste by 30 to 40 percent. With the stepped-up recycling, he said, the reduction was noticeable after only a handful of Carolina Hurricanes hockey games and N.C. State basketball games.

"It's already definitely making an impact," he said. "So far, after eight events, we have recycled 3.31 tons, so we are off to a great start and should far surpass prior recycling totals."

Last year, the arena recycled about 20 tons for the entire year, which included about 150 events.

The enhanced recycling efforts keep the RBC Center a step ahead of a new state law that takes effect in January. It will require bars, restaurants and other establishments that serve alcoholic beverages to recycle glass, plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

Carter-Finley Stadium, where N.C. State plays football, has been promoting waste reduction and recycling since 2003 by encouraging tailgaters to drop their bottles and cans in recycling bins. The stadium recycles nearly 20 tons of beverage containers per season. At Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, about 3.2 tons of beverage containers and a ton of cardboard were collected during football games last year.

Scott Mouw, state recycling coordinator, said the new law is expected to haul in about 50,000 tons of recyclables.

In addition to the recycling effort, the arena introduced more environmentally friendly cups in 2005 and has gradually expanded their use, said Chris Diamond, the RBC Center's food and beverage director. Five of the 12 styles of cups used for concessions such as draft beer are now Greenware -- the brand name for a compostable type of cup.

"You would not notice any difference if you're holding it," Diamond said. "Within 50 days at a compost heap, this cup will disintegrate to nothing."

He said an environmentally friendly cup for liquor drinks will arrive in a couple of months.

The clear plastic cups look like ordinary containers, but are made from biodegradable cornstarch. Traditional plastic cups, made from petroleum products, last and last.

John Tatum, a Carolina Hurricanes fan who has season tickets, said he has noticed the recycling bins around the arena, but hasn't detected any difference in the beer cups even after another fan mentioned them.

"As many people go in and out of there, I'm sure they produce a lot of trash," Tatum said. "Any way they can reduce the trash is good not only for them, but for the environment."