A Very Verde Achievement

Fans in Austin kept 94 percent of waste from landfill at big MLS games

Q2 Stadium with Texas Disposal Systems truck

Of the tons of waste created at every game, only 6 percent went to the landfill during two MLS All Star events.

Photo courtesy of Texas Disposal Systems

Soccer fans in Austin may not have realized it, but they took part in an impressively low-waste event if they attended the 2025 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge and All-Star Game at Q2 Stadium in July. All in all, Q2 Stadium reached a 94 percent waste diversion rate, meaning the vast majority of waste was sent somewhere other than a landfill.

The U.S. Green Building Council estimates that fans at Q2 Stadium create about seven to eight tons of waste for EVERY game, so every percentage point diverted — and every one still going to the landfill — really adds up. The City of Austin itself has a diversion goal of 90 percent by the year of 2040, so unbelievably, Q2 fans and management are already achieving more than the general population.

A press release from Texas Disposal Systems (TDS), the Official Waste & Recycling Partner of Austin FC, says this was part of its zero-waste initiative at the stadium. It considers the achievement, with the help of Okapi Environmental Services (OES), “a benchmark for sustainable sporting events nationwide.”

OES tracked the data in real time to see how execution would stack up to the stadium’s goals. The release says the organization ended up with “valuable insights” into fan behavior and the paths materials were taking, but it did not share what specifically it learned.

Fans had to pull their weight to make it happen, sorting their own waste at Eco Stations. They also had help from TDS “Trash Goalies,” representatives from other local organizations including the Austin Independent School District and cooler company Yeti.

Q2 Stadium Trash Goalies These Trash Goalies are guarding the extra-skinny landfill basket.Photo courtesy of Texas Disposal Systems

"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,” said Vice President of Stadium Operations at Austin FC Nick Otte in the release. “With the support of TDS and Okapi Environmental Services, Q2 Stadium continues to set the standard for sustainability in Major League Soccer.”

Sorting trash may be simple for attendees, but for the stadium and its partners, it took a year to plan out. That started with buying materials, analyzing each item to determine if it could be reused, donated, recycled, or composted, according to the release.

On the soccer side, MLS (Major League Soccer) and Austin FC have included sustainability in their marketing communications. Who knows how many fans are hanging on every word of their marketing emails, but Q2 Stadium is working to distinguish itself as a sustainable venue and back it up with certifications.

In 2024, Q2 Stadium earned its Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) Certification on the “Gold” level, marking a consistent diversion rate of more than 90 percent. It was the world's first stadium specifically for soccer use to earn the distinction.

“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.”

sustainability sports q2 stadium soccer mls

SXSW 2026

LaKeith Stanfield, Keke Palmer in ensemble cast of SXSW 2026 opening film

Photo courtesy of SXSW

Director Boots Riley, known for Sorry To Bother You, returns to South by Southwest in an important capacity for 2026.

South by Southwest (SXSW) is getting ready for 2026 and has announced one of its most important lineup details: the opening night film. I Love Boosters, featuring an ensemble cast, will open the 2026 Film & TV Festival with its world premiere March 12. The rest of the film festival runs through March 18.

I Love Boosters is directed by filmmaker Boots Riley, who is also known for the 2018 film Sorry to Bother You and the 2023 series I'm a Virgo. The big and buzzy cast features Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore.

According to a press release, audiences can expect a "mind-bending story" about a group of professional shoplifters, the Velvet Gang, who set their sights on a ruthless "fashion maven." The release remains as vague as possible: "Revealing any more than that would do a disservice to the SXSW opening night crowd..."

This is only Riley's second original feature film. He first became known in music, playing with The Coup and the Street Sweeper Social Club with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. His first film, which also starred LaKeith Stanfield, was met with notably good reviews. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico called it "an adrenalin-shot of a comedy and a fearless dissection of identity politics, corporate malevolence, and the American tendency to look the other way when confronted with horror."

Of course, opening night films can be hard to get into, but technically anyone with a Film & TV or Platinum Badge ($825 and $1,495, respectively) can attend if they commit early enough. There will also be an opening party that both types of badgeholders are invited to attend. Badges are available now at sxsw.com.

"Boots has created another wildly original and boundary-pushing vision that's deliciously unpredictable," said Film & TV VP Claudette Godfrey in the release. "We can’t wait for our audience to be sucked into his singular, subversive world where razor-sharp social commentary meets fearless, surreal storytelling and eye-popping imagery—all powered by a ridiculously stacked cast of some of the most talented actors on the planet."

It sounds like I Love Boosters — if it is as unique as they say — may follow a similar trajectory to the cult hit Everything Everywhere All At Once, which famously premiered at the festival in 2022 and later won seven Oscars. The opening film in 2025 was Another Simple Favor, a somewhat unenthusiastically received effort that was blunted by lawsuits involving co-star Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who worked together on another film around the same time.

I Love Boosters already has a distribution deal set up, and will hit theaters May 22, 2026.

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