The Hayden Homes Amphitheater continues to lead the industry in sustainable venue operations, delivering consistent, measurable results that make every show more environmentally responsible. During the 2025 season, the venue achieved a 93.5 percent landfill diversion rate through its commitment to eliminating single-use plastic water bottles, reducing overall waste, and empowering fans to make greener choices.
“We approach waste management as a critical environmental challenge, emphasizing the importance of utilizing existing materials rather than consuming finite raw resources,” says Justin Alvarado, who co-manages the venue’s Green Team with Peggy Lovejoy. “The Green Team actively explores innovative waste diversion solutions, rejecting the ‘throw out’ mindset that is traditionally dominated with large events.”
The amphitheater’s Green Team sorts every bin, reuses trash bags between shows, and ensures materials are properly diverted. Their work resulted in less than one ounce of waste per guest this season. In total, Hayden Homes Amphitheater recycled more than 62,000 pounds and composted more than 94,000 pounds of material. These efforts are supported in partnership with OnPoint Community Credit Union, the venue’s official Sustainability Partner, whose commitment helps advance and amplify the venue’s environmental initiatives.
Fan participation remains central to the venue’s sustainability efforts. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles and use free refill stations, helping the venue avoid more than 89,000 single-use plastic bottles in 2025. Additional efforts included solar-powered phone charging stations, and the continued use of more than 400 bike racks across the venue making low-impact transportation even more accessible. In August, the venue partnered with Commute Options to encourage alternative transportation to shows. Nearly 10,000 concertgoers rode bikes to the amphitheater in 2025.
The Hayden Homes Amphitheater received the following awards from Live Nation earlier this month:
- Highest Diversion Rate for All Outdoor Venues (93.5 percent): Hayden Homes Amphitheater diverted more than 160,000 pounds of waste from the Knott Landfill. A landfill diversion rate measures the percentage of waste successfully redirected from landfills toward alternative waste streams such as composting, recycling and material reuse.
- Highest Rebate Redemption Value: Hayden Homes Amphitheater ranked first among all venues in bottle and can recycling in states that have a Bottle Bill.
- Zero Waste Tour Status with Mumford & Sons: The Hayden Homes Amphitheater received recognition from Mumford & Sons for exceeding a 90 percent landfill diversion rate over the course of the band’s two June shows in Bend.
Hayden Homes Amphitheater launched its sustainability program in 2017, initially focusing on waste reduction and management within the venue. Environmental sustainability has since become a driving force within the venue’s overall operations, with its Green Team becoming one of the nation’s leading sustainability programs.
“Our primary goal extends beyond basic environmental compliance to active stewardship of our planet,” Alvarado says about the amphitheater’s sustainability mission.
The venue’s sustainability programs have consistently trended upward despite hosting a growing number of events. The amphitheater’s landfill diversion rate, for example, has shown annual improvements, including a 6.5 percent jump (from 87 percent to 93.5 percent) from 2024 to 2025.
“By caring for our immediate community and ecosystem, we foster a relationship of mutual benefit and support,” Alvarado says. “This relationship fuels the Green Team’s commitment to environmental stewardship and embodies the venue’s ethos. We recognize that caring for one another on a human level creates lasting partnerships that strengthen both our venue and our immediate community.”
About Hayden Homes Amphitheater
The Hayden Homes Amphitheater is an independent, outdoor riverfront amphitheater built in Bend, Oregon’s historic Old Mill District in 2001. Since its first season in 2002, the Amphitheater has hosted more than 1 million guests at the venue for ticketed and free concerts, brew festivals and races. The venue currently accommodates 8,000 patrons for concerts and other events – a welcoming space where music, community, great food and sustainability meet. Learn more at www.bendconcerts.com.
This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.
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