Steelers Fans Celebrate Successful Season of Tailgate Recycling

While football is a game marked by yards – and often inches – fans tailgating outside Heinz Field before 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers home games recycled more than 14 MILES of aluminum cans during the 8-game regular season as part of the Pennsylvania Resources Council's "Let's Tackle Recycling" effort.

If placed end to end, the 179,000 cans gathered in Heinz Field lots since September would stretch for more than 14 miles. And according to campaign sponsor Alcoa, an aluminum can goes from consumption to being recycled into a new can (and back into a consumer's hand for consumption again) in less than a football season: just 60 days.

Since the campaign's kickoff on September 18, the Let's Tackle Recycling crew gathered more than 22,000 pounds of cans, bottles, plastic containers and cardboard in Heinz Field parking lots.

“Let’s Tackle Recycling” is coordinated by PRC and made possible through the generous funding from the Alcoa Foundation in partnership with Alco Parking, City of Pittsburgh Environmental Services, Greenstar Recycling, Heinz Field and the Sports & Exhibition Authority. 

QUICK STATS

• 8,000 Pounds of Aluminum Cans, Glass Bottles, Plastic Containers and Cardbaord in final 5 games of the 2010 Football Season
• 22,000 Pounds of Aluminum Cans, Glass Bottles, Plastic Containers and Cardbaord in 2011 Football Season
• 2,051 Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent Total Energy Savings
• 14 Miles of aluminum cans stacked end to end diverted from the landfill

Other Programs

• Philadeplhia's Recycle-a-Lot Program