AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Disposal Systems (TDS), one of the largest independently owned solid waste collection and disposal companies in the nation, and the Official Waste & Recycling Partner of Austin FC, proudly announces the successful achievement of a zero-waste initiative at Q2 Stadium, during the 2025 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T and the MLS All-Star Game.

Through a coordinated effort with Austin FC, Major League Soccer (MLS), and environmental consulting partner Okapi Environmental Services (OES), Q2 Stadium was able to achieve an impressive 94 percent waste diversion rate from both the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T on July 22, 2025, and the MLS All-Star Game on July 23, 2025, making those events, hosted at Q2 Stadium, a benchmark for sustainable sporting events nationwide.

This milestone would not have been possible without the active participation of fans and the dedication of stadium staff. During both of the exciting events at Q2 Stadium, attendees embraced the event’s sustainability goals by properly sorting waste into the correct waste sorting Eco Stations, following signage, and engaging with TDS Trash Goalies.

“Achieving a 94 percent diversion rate during MLS All-Star Skills Challenge and the MLS All-Star Game is a testament to the commitment of our fans, volunteers, and operations team,” says Nick Otte, Vice President of Stadium Operations at Austin FC. “With the support of TDS and Okapi Environmental Services, Q2 Stadium continues to set the standard for sustainability in Major League Soccer.”

Representatives from other local organizations and businesses including Austin ISD and YETI joined forces with TDS and OES to serve as Trash Goalies, volunteer zero waste ambassadors. Behind the scenes, stadium operations teams worked seamlessly to support the waste diversion process, making sustainability a visible and celebrated part of the MLS All-Star events at Q2 Stadium.

The success of this initiative was the result of year-long planning with the Q2 Stadium Operations team. Okapi Environmental Services partnered closely with stadium personnel well in advance to ensure that sustainability was fully integrated into the infrastructure and operational blueprint of the event. This proactive approach helped streamline implementation and enhance diversion outcomes across all event touchpoints.

A detailed sustainable materials strategy was also a key contributor to the success. Every item entering the stadium was evaluated for its full end-of-life outcome, whether it could be reused, donated, recycled, or composted. This approach dramatically minimized landfill dependency and promoted a closed-loop mindset throughout the event supply chain.

Over the course of the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T and the MLS All-Star Game, which brought together fans, players, and partners from across the country, TDS provided comprehensive waste collection, recycling, and composting Eco Stations and services to ensure as much waste as possible was diverted from the landfill.

“This achievement is the result of meticulous planning, strong partnerships, and a shared commitment to environmental responsibility,” says Rick Fraumann, Vice President of Sales and Growth at Texas Disposal Systems. “We believe zero waste is not just a goal, but a standard that can be met when innovation meets collaboration.”

The zero-waste mission was also promoted in advance through the communications arms of both MLS and Austin FC, ensuring fans were engaged and informed before even arriving at the stadium. This collaborative marketing effort helped amplify the mission and set expectations around sustainability from the outset.

Behind the scenes, OES played a critical role in tracking and verifying waste volumes throughout the event. Their real-time data collection and post-event reporting, via the EcoVisor dashboard, ensured accuracy in diversion measurement and provided valuable insights into fan behavior and material flow.

Sustainability and making Q2 Stadium the greenest stadium in the MLS, is something TDS and the Q2 Stadium team have been working on together since the beginning of the Austin FC franchise in 2020. In 2024, TDS and OES helped Q2 Stadium become the world’s first soccer-specific stadium to earn Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) Certification. They were awarded the TRUE Gold which means the stadium consistently diverted more than 90 percent of its waste away from the landfill.