FooTball STadium’s
Wastage

It’s tradition to tuck into a half-time pie when attending a match day. But have you ever wondered what happens to the wrappers, bottles and other waste generated at a game? We submitted an FOI request to the UK government to find out…

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(Total Wastage After The Premier League)

Wastage After a Premier League Game: Revealed

The Premier League is home to some of the largest sports stadiums in the world, so it’s no surprise that across 490 of its games in the 2019/20 season it generated a combined total of 2,117 tonnes of waste.

Manchester United are the biggest offenders with 8 tonnes per match and 197 tonnes over the season.

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Sort by:
STADIUM NAME
FULL CAPACITY
GAMES PER SEASON
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
Manchester United – Old Trafford
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Manchester United – Old Trafford
FULL CAPACITY
75639
GAMES PER SEASON
26
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
8
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
197
Arsenal – Emirates Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Arsenal – Emirates Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
60260
GAMES PER SEASON
30
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
6
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
180
Manchester City – Etihad Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Manchester City – Etihad Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
55097
GAMES PER SEASON
28
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
6
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
154
Wolves – Molineux
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Wolves – Molineux
FULL CAPACITY
66000
GAMES PER SEASON
23
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
7
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
152
Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
62303
GAMES PER SEASON
24
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
6
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
150
Liverpool – Anfield
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Liverpool – Anfield
FULL CAPACITY
54074
GAMES PER SEASON
27
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
5
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
146
West Ham – London Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
West Ham – London Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
66000
GAMES PER SEASON
22
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
7
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
145
Chelsea – Stamford Bridge
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Chelsea – Stamford Bridge
FULL CAPACITY
42055
GAMES PER SEASON
32
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
4
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
135
Newcastle United – St James' Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Newcastle United – St James' Park
FULL CAPACITY
52387
GAMES PER SEASON
21
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
5
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
110
Aston Villa – Villa Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Aston Villa – Villa Park
FULL CAPACITY
42788
GAMES PER SEASON
25
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
4
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
107
Everton – Goodison Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Everton – Goodison Park
FULL CAPACITY
40158
GAMES PER SEASON
23
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
4
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
92
Sheffield United – Bramall Lane
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Sheffield United – Bramall Lane
FULL CAPACITY
32701
GAMES PER SEASON
25
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
3
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
82
Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park
FULL CAPACITY
25456
GAMES PER SEASON
29
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
3
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
74
Leicester – King Power Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Leicester – King Power Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
32312
GAMES PER SEASON
22
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
3
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
71
Brighton – Amex Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Brighton – Amex Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
30750
GAMES PER SEASON
22
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
3
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
68
Norwich – Carrow Road
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Norwich – Carrow Road
FULL CAPACITY
27244
GAMES PER SEASON
25
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
3
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
68
Southampton – St Mary's Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Southampton – St Mary's Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
32505
GAMES PER SEASON
20
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
3
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
65
Burnley – Turf Moor
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Burnley – Turf Moor
FULL CAPACITY
22546
GAMES PER SEASON
23
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
2
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
52
Watford – Vicarage Road
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Watford – Vicarage Road
FULL CAPACITY
21577
GAMES PER SEASON
20
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
2
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
43
Bournemouth – Vitality Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Bournemouth – Vitality Stadium
FULL CAPACITY
11360
GAMES PER SEASON
23
TONNES OF WASTE PER GAME
1
TONNES OF WASTE PER SEASON
26
TOTAL
853212
490
85
2117

The Cost of Cleaning This Up?

So what’s the cost of cleaning up the waste? Premier League clubs spend a combined £24,167 on cleaning up per game. This means £599,518 was spent over the course of 490 games played last season.

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Sort by:
STADIUM NAME
Cost Per Game
Cost Per Season
Manchester United – Old Trafford
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Manchester United – Old Trafford
COST PER GAME
£2,143
COST PER SEASON
£55,721
Arsenal – Emirates Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Arsenal – Emirates Stadium
COST PER GAME
£1,700
COST PER SEASON
£51,000
Manchester City – Etihad Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Manchester City – Etihad Stadium
COST PER GAME
£1,561
COST PER SEASON
£43,710
Wolves – Molineux
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Wolves – Molineux
COST PER GAME
£1,870
COST PER SEASON
£43,010
Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
COST PER GAME
£1,765
COST PER SEASON
£42,366
Liverpool – Anfield
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Liverpool – Anfield
COST PER GAME
£1,532
COST PER SEASON
£41,367
West Ham – London Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
West Ham – London Stadium
COST PER GAME
£1,870
COST PER SEASON
£41,140
Chelsea – Stamford Bridge
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Chelsea – Stamford Bridge
COST PER GAME
£1,192
COST PER SEASON
£38,130
Newcastle United – St James' Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Newcastle United – St James' Park
COST PER GAME
£1,484
COST PER SEASON
£31,170
Aston Villa – Villa Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Aston Villa – Villa Park
COST PER GAME
£1,212
COST PER SEASON
£30,308
Everton – Goodison Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Everton – Goodison Park
COST PER GAME
£1,138
COST PER SEASON
£26,170
Sheffield United – Bramall Lane
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Sheffield United – Bramall Lane
COST PER GAME
£927
COST PER SEASON
£23,163
Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park
COST PER GAME
£721
COST PER SEASON
£20,916
Leicester – King Power Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Leicester – King Power Stadium
COST PER GAME
£916
COST PER SEASON
£20,141
Brighton – Amex Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Brighton – Amex Stadium
COST PER GAME
£871
COST PER SEASON
£19,167
Norwich – Carrow Road
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Norwich – Carrow Road
COST PER GAME
£772
COST PER SEASON
£19,298
Southampton – St Mary's Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Southampton – St Mary's Stadium
COST PER GAME
£921
COST PER SEASON
£18,419
Burnley – Turf Moor
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Burnley – Turf Moor
COST PER GAME
£639
COST PER SEASON
£14,692
Watford – Vicarage Road
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Watford – Vicarage Road
COST PER GAME
£611
COST PER SEASON
£12,227
Bournemouth – Vitality Stadium
Opener
STADIUM NAME
Bournemouth – Vitality Stadium
COST PER GAME
£322
COST PER SEASON
£7,403
TOTAL
£24,167
£599,518
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2117 Tonnes Is equivalent To...

So now you know that the PL’s stadiums created 2,117 tonnes of waste over 490 games last season. But what does that look like? To put it into perspective, this weight equates to 1,000 blue whales, 3 million basketballs or 1,510 cars. Yep, we’re shocked as well.

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Expert Comment:
Margarita Samsonova

We spoke to zoologist, sustainability activist & content creator, Margarita - we asked how sporting events could reduce their waste impact on the environment, Margarita suggested that venues “refuse single use plastics and stop offering them. Eliminate single use straws…sell reusable bottles…and don’t give bags to take away food or souvenirs.” Margarita also stated the scary fact; “ Less than 10% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled. “

Margarita Samsonova
Scientists estimate that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. Margarita Samsonova – Zoologist, Sustainability Activist & Content Creator.
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Methodology

The team at OnlineGambling.ca endeavored to find out how much waste there is after a premier league game, to do so – they produced and FOI request to the UK Government which they received the following information: the average quantity of waste generated per large scale Emirates event which is collected/disposed is approx. 5-6 tonnes and the cost to clean up is approx. £1,700 per game.

Based off this Government information, the team were able to calculate the estimate of waste & cost for each PL stadium.

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