It might be a white Super Bowl, but it’ll definitely be a green-ish one. For the first time, food scraps from the Super Bowl will be composted.
That’s not a huge suprise, given that MetLife Stadium, host of this Sunday’s big game, has separated and composted food waste for two years. Still, it will be nice to see composting happen on such a grand (and cold) stage.
The composting will happen under the auspices of the NFL environmental programs, which has a five-tiered program for the Super Bowl. Minimizing the materials sent to landfills is one pillar, as is prepared food recovery. As NFL environmental program head Jack Groh told me, the NFL has been donating edible but unsold Super Bowl concession food to local charities for 20 years.
Given the NFL’s history of donation, it’s surprising that composting hasn’t happened sooner. The lack of composting has likely stemmed from a lack of awareness and stadium infrastructure. And so there’s even more reason to celebrate Sunday’s composting. It’ll mean 7 to 8 tons of food kept out of the landfill. And that will be just super.