Sustainable Packaging Options for Stadiums, Arenas and Major Events

After just one football match at Wembley Stadium in the UK, fans generated nearly 30 tonnes of waste. An American football game generates an average of 30 to 40 tons, but every year the Super Bowl doubles that number to around 60 tons. While fans love their sporting events, they are major sources of waste, which is why stadiums and arenas worldwide are making greater commitments to sustainability and choosing options like recyclable food packaging.

Tottenham Hotspur stadium opened in London in 2019 with zero waste and single-use plastic reduction commitments. Its waste management system sends nothing to landfill, and plastic cups are returned, washed and reused. The Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam uses 4,000 solar power modules on its roof to deliver three megawatts of power for stadium needs, and that power is shared with the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, Smurfit Westrock has a partnership with State Farm Arena in Atlanta, America’s first zero-waste arena. We help divert at least 90% of the arena’s waste from landfill through its Resource Recovery Room, the area dedicated to sorting waste from events.

Helping stadiums like these increase recycling, reduce landfill contributions and reduce waste overall requires packaging options that are recyclable and sometimes compostable. Here are a few examples of sustainable packaging options for stadiums, arenas and major event venues.

Stadium Meal Carrier

stadium meal carrier

What do fans like to pair with a good beer? A nice hot brät! However, when buying multiple items, sports fans often face a major struggle at stadiums and arenas: juggling multiple drinks and meals while trying to carefully climb over other fans to get back to their seats, often resulting in spills, frustration or multiple trips.

Tackling this issue for Odense Boldklub in Denmark, Smurfit Westrock introduced the Stadium Meal Carrier—a practical, paper-based solution that lets fans carry drinks, meals and snacks in one container and all with one hand. The recyclable corrugated design holds two beverages, two trays and snacks in a lower compartment. Its flat delivery and conical construction make it easy to stack and quick to assemble. The carrier can be custom printed, creating additional branding and sponsorship opportunities.

The Stadium Meal Carrier can reduce spills and accidents, improve the attendee experience and streamline food and beverage service. The innovative design also earned a 2025 Packnorth Award.

Grease-resistant containers made from EnShield® paperboard

grease-resistant food container EnShield

Stadiums and arenas are known for serving up greasy fan favorites: sausages, burgers, fries (chips), nachos and chicken strips. EnShield® grease-resistant paperboard food packaging provides various levels of grease resistance without the need for a poly lining (plastic coating) and with no intentionally added PFAS.

Food packaging manufacturers and suppliers use EnShield paperboard to create containers of various sizes for these fan favorites and then sell them to venues. The grease associated with these messy foods stays in the container instead of bleeding through to a fan’s lap. Easily printed for all-over branding, EnShield paperboard is available in brown, white or recycled substrates, and it can be made to be recyclable.

BioPlus Terra® II compostable food packaging

compostable food packaging

In addition to recyclable options for food, there are also compostable food packaging options. If an event space has access to a regional composting facility, compostable packaging could be a great way to increase sustainability and reduce waste, putting a stadium or arena one step closer to becoming a zero-waste facility.

BioPlus Terra® II compostable food packaging, a part of our FoldPak® portfolio, is moisture, leak and grease resistant and is also third-party certified as compostable in a commercial facility. In addition, it’s made from 100% recycled paperboard.

The containers, available in various sizes, are designed to retain heat but also vent moisture. They’re easily stacked for storage and can be printed on, providing opportunity for greater branding.

BumBox™ event seating

Not everything has to be about food; sometimes it’s about comfort. When festivals, concerts or outdoor entertainment venues don’t provide seating, the BumBox™ can make someone’s patch of grass a lot more comfortable. The recyclable and reusable corrugated board solution is a folding seat that is stored flat and transforms to provide a triangular prism seatback that can comfortably support up to 120kgs (just over 260 pounds).

The BumBox accepts full color printing for branding, which provides advertising billboard space perfect for an event sponsor. It also printed with moisture-resistant inks that help protect it from humidity and ground moisture. Event-goers may take them home for reuse or recycle them onsite in recycling bins provided by the venue.

Fans love sports, music and sustainability

Sports and music fans love a live event, but they’re also eager to do right by the environment. Globally, over 57% of those surveyed by McKinsey would pay more for sustainable packaging. Providing sustainable packaging options such as recyclable food packaging can help fans enjoy the event and their entire venue experience, hopefully bringing them back for more.

Didn’t see the perfect option for your event space? Our teams specialize in problem-solving design and quick-turn solutions. Contact us to explore these and additional options for your event venue.