PreZero Arena to become the first Zero Waste Arena in Germany
Partners TSG Hoffenheim and PreZero started extensive analyses for this decisive step towards certified sustainability
Neckarsulm, March 09, 2022. When the employees in the PreZero Arena currently collect waste, it’s not meant for disposal but for the laboratory. Because PreZero, together with its partner, TSG Hoffenheim, is taking a major step towards living sustainability even more. In the future the PreZero Arena will become the first independently certified “Zero Waste Arena” for the German Bundesliga. As the fans return, this idea is now being put into practice. The project team is taking a strategic approach to the challenge and is collecting waste, data and ideas that are then analyzed in collaboration with the responsible parties at TSG Hoffenheim. Waste should then become a thing of the past, replaced by recyclables that are utilized or recycled in an environmentally friendly way.
There’s nothing new about the topic of sustainability. For example, grass clippings are already being reused to make paper for autograph cards. “Environmental protection affects us all. Together with TSG Hoffenheim, we are already demonstrating how professional football can also become a role model in terms of sustainability”, claims Thomas Kyriakis, CEO at PreZero. “We don’t just want to talk about sustainability, but also give it a specific shape, preserve resources, avoid waste and close recycling loops. From the club right through to the fans: Everybody benefits from a future in which we preserve the environment and resources. We’re making significant strides towards this vision with the Zero-Waste-Certification.”
The basis of the certification will be the DIN SPEC 91436, which was recently developed by PreZero in conjunction with other partners including the Institute for Waste and circular economy at TU Dresden, DEKRA and TÜV SÜD. This involves reducing waste quantities in line with “Zero Waste" and using unavoidable waste sustainably.
One example makes it clear: In a sold-out arena, about 22,000 cups cross the counters at each game. The single use cups used last year are made of polylactides (PLA), that have no appropriate options for composting or recycling in Germany. Since January 2021, the arena has been issuing new cups made of resistant polyethylene. They can be washed out up to 400 times and avoid the disposal of roughly half a million cups in 17 home games per season.
For TSG Hoffenheim and PreZero, it’s all about transparency and now they’re leading the way with their entire Zero Waste Initiative. The next major milestone is to test and then implement a new waste separation system for the arena together with TSG and their fans. “The path is ideally suited to our future strategy‚ ‘TSG is movement‘. We’re taking this path with a sense of excitement and the firm will to learn something new every day. We’re thrilled to be going down this road with our partner PreZero and, above all, together with our fans”, declares Denni Strich, TSG Hoffenheim Managing Director.
According to a study by Mannheim University in November 2020, roughly 75% of those football enthusiasts asked tended to agree or agreed completely that football clubs should promote sustainability. TSG Hoffenheim and PreZero are thus pursuing the challenge that has been directly assigned by the fans: to make the PreZero Arena the first Zero Waste Arena in Germany.
Accompanying reports and background information on the path to the Zero Waste Arena can be accessed here. Further information will follow.
More information about PreZero can be found at our press portal.
