Zero Waste in Sports: The Role of Compostable Packaging and Consumer Disposal Behavior
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Palacios, Christopher
- Graduate Program:
- Biorenewable Systems
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 05, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Judd Harrison Michael, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Christine Costello, Committee Member
Mark A Gagnon, Committee Member
Suat Irmak, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- zero waste
waste
sports
packaging
compostable packaging
recyclable packaging
composting
recycling
trash
waste management
stadiums
landfill
consumer behavior
disposal accuracy
disposal behavior - Abstract:
- Sports stadiums and venues are adopting zero waste strategies to reduce their environmental impacts. Waste is typically diverted from landfill through recycling and composting. However, there are several food and beverage packaging materials that can not be diverted because they can not be recycled or composted. Compostable alternatives provide a solution for achieving zero waste by replacing difficult or non-recyclable materials that can be disposed of together with food waste. This thesis uses a case study of Penn State's Beaver Stadium to quantify the role of compostable materials in diverting waste. Compostable alternatives can replace more than a quarter of the mass of non-recyclable materials generated within the stadium. Despite the potential benefits of these materials, inaccurate disposal by consumers can increase contamination and prevent successful waste diversion. This thesis provides a study on consumer disposal accuracy to determine how consumers dispose of different types of waste and the influences of knowledge and prior experience on accuracy. Consumers with more knowledge and prior experience with composting and recycling overall disposed of items more accurately. Consumers are also more knowledgeable about recycling than composting and have also have greater experience with recycling and they dispose of recyclable materials much more accurately than compostable items. The results from both of the studies within this thesis should be considered when developing zero waste strategies. Recommendations for stakeholders, including stadiums and the packaging industry, are discussed. Future studies based on this research are also discussed.