Subaru of America, Inc. and the Philadelphia Union have revealed a unique “zero landfill” sculpture at Subaru Park in Chester, PA to commemorate its status as the first zero landfill stadium in Major League Soccer. Since achieving the milestone in 2021, Subaru and the Union have diverted more than one million pounds of waste from landfills. Subaru has been dedicated to helping other businesses and organizations achieve the same zero waste status that the Subaru of Indiana Automotive manufacturing plant achieved in 2004 and has freely shared knowledge with over 900 companies worldwide to help make the world a better place.
"We’re proud of our sustainable legacy and all we’ve accomplished since becoming the first automaker with a zero landfill factory in the United States,” said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Subaru of America. “We’re also proud of the recycling milestones we’ve achieved throughout our partnership with the Philadelphia Union, and we hope this incredible new sculpture will show visitors to Subaru Park just how beautiful recycling can be.”
Made from 12,000 upcycled pieces of recyclable materials collected from Subaru Park, the larger-than-life soccer ball sculpture now occupies a prominent spot in front of the stadium. The installation was unveiled ahead of Wednesday night’s match, with added fanfare from the Philadelphia Union’s notable supporters group, Sons of Ben, who created a custom tifo out of upcycled materials in celebration of the event.
“Our Philadelphia Union community has been instrumental in helping us achieve and maintain zero landfill status,” said Tim McDermott, Philadelphia Union President. “Whenever fans come to Subaru Park, they’ll be greeted by a beautiful reminder of the work they put in to make this stadium zero landfill and know that they may have contributed a piece to the sculpture.”
The sculpture was commissioned by Subaru and created by TerraCycle’s in-house design team who specialize in creating custom upcycled works including pieces of art, sculptures, consumer products, fashion, and furnishings from hard-to-recycle materials. Working with recycled materials collected only from Subaru Park, the team repurposed more than 12,000 pieces of waste that were diverted from landfills, including aluminum cans and tabs, plastic soda bottles and caps, as well as one large billboard. The sculpture symbolizes Subaru and the Union’s shared commitments, including love of the game and the planet.
The Subaru Park sculpture is part of the Subaru Loves the Earth® initiative to help reduce waste, preserve wildlife, and safeguard resources for generations to come. To learn more about Subaru Loves the Earth, visit Subaru.com/earth.
