The NFL Environmental Program Is Making Solid Plays Post-Super Bowl

In case you’ve been wondering what happened to all of the post-Super Bowl waste in Indianapolis, the director of the NFL Environmental Program Jack Groh has good news.

To “green” the big game, the NFL’s goal was to use less supplies and recover everything that’s practical, Groh says in an article on indystar.com. 

For example, the five to six miles of banners displayed in Indianapolis will be used to create bags and possibly shower curtains, according to the People for Urban Progress.  Second Helpings, a local nonprofit community kitchen, collected over 40,000 pounds of leftover food related to Super Bowl events.  

Four cases of gently used office supplies are being donated to Indianapolis Public Schools.  Because of the fair weather weekend in Indianapolis, a large amount of unused winter clothing that the NFL ordered for employees will be donated, such as fleece-lined parkas, sweater vests and long-sleeved shirts. 

By supplying 15,000 megawatt-hours worth of renewable energy certificates, Green Mountain Energy replaced carbon sources of energy used at the big game with energy from the wind.   

Green Mountain Energy also has plans to buy carbon offsets to counter the effects of carbon energy created by the Giants’ and the Patriots’ travels to and from the game, according to the indystar.com article.

After any event, or anytime you replace office supplies with new ones, it's always best to find ways to recover what was used.  Although recycling materials is better than sending them to the landfill, finding a donation center, school, or another organization that can repurpose your supplies is the way to go!