Grundon has won a major contract to manage waste and recycling at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the world-class home of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur.
The match between the waste specialist and the sustainability-driven club sees Grundon starting to implement game-changing systems and processes at the north London stadium, which attracts nearly two million visitors a year.
Stephen Hill, Grundon’s General Manager – Group Commercial Development, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Spurs.”
“Both the club and the stadium team are renowned for their forward-thinking approach to sustainability and I believe the expertise and innovative ideas we bring will deliver even greater success.”
Stephen Hill
General Manager - Group Commercial Development at Grundon
The first step has seen Grundon’s Emma Shaw take up a new on-site role as the club’s dedicated Stadium Contract Manager, leading a team of waste operatives and identifying key areas for improvement. These include a focus on increasing waste segregation through education and training, investment in new equipment, and seeking new opportunities to reuse existing materials to support the club’s commitment to the circular economy.
“Grundon’s innovative and ambitious approach, together with its ability to demonstrate a clear and realistic pathway gave us full confidence.”
Marcus Parry
Sustainability Manager at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Marcus Parry, Sustainability Manager at Spurs, continued: “Having Emma on site is a massive help as it gives us a fresh pair of eyes, someone uses her expertise to challenge us, which is very important.”
“This contract marks a significant investment towards designing waste out of our operations and increasing circularity across our materials and systems. Our focus now is on driving innovation and ensuring our progress is both measurable and credible – we are already recognised as a leader in the sustainability space; we want to be more ambitious, to progress further, and we see Grundon as a company that looks outside the box and shares that ambition with us.”
Recognised as the largest club stadium in London and with a capacity of 62,850, it is home to over 60 food and drink outlets. Alongside football matches, the stadium features world-class conferences and events facilities and hosts a variety of major events, including NFL, boxing, rugby and concerts.
Grundon is now managing waste across all the stadium’s activities, including traditional waste streams (general waste, mixed recycling and food) alongside other materials such as grass cuttings, wood, metal and compostable packaging.
Future plans include a new, larger waste yard; an on-site ‘mini MRF’ (Materials Recovery Facility) with specialist teams to improve waste segregation; and trials of AI waste bins on the stadium concourses to help boost match-day and event recycling.
In addition, Grundon is already looking at innovative ways to transform existing waste materials into sought-after new products for the future.
Already recognised as the Premier League’s greenest club, earlier this year the stadium was awarded ECOsmart Platinum, the highest level of sustainability certification by sustainability organisation Greengage Solutions. The prestigious accreditation is given to organisation that demonstrate exceptional environmental performance across areas such as energy efficiency, carbon management and responsible sourcing.