The Falcons have announced a Rise Up & Recycle campaign, which encourages fans to join in on the team's efforts to support green initiatives.
The campaign, which kicked off Saturday during Russell Athletic Training Camp, is focused on promoting recycling, a cause important to the entire Falcons organization.
"Since 2009, we kicked off our green initiative here at the Atlanta Falcons," general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. "Since then, we've really drawn all the people within our building in a really interesting, sort of passionate, approach to what we're doing with green initiative within the organization. This has been spearheaded by our owner, Arthur Blank, who is very, very passionate about green initiatives and the environment."
The campaign is happening through a partnership with Novelis, an Atlanta-based company and the largest recycling company in the world.
"The Falcons want to be the greenest team in the NFL and we're the world's largest recycler of aluminum," said Kim Adler, Vice President of Communication and Affairs at Novelis. "We recycle 40 billion aluminum beverage cans every year. And we just thought it was a great partnership for us to be together."
Dimitroff also pointed out that they want fans to recycle not just at the team's facilities in Flowery Branch, but also throughout the state in their own homes, at the Georgia Dome and to then carry it on to the new stadium, something they're encouraging with a "Get Caught In the Act" program.
"This year, we're going to launch the 'Get Caught in the Act' recycling program," Adler said. "That program is when we see a fan in the stadium recycling a can, they're going to be videotaped and they'll appear on the Jumbotron and they'll win some cool prizes and they'll get some fame right in the stadium."
Dimitroff also commented on how unique it is for an NFL team to be so proactive about recycling, adding that he's "proud" of the organization's passion about the cause.
"Everyone from the top of the house of the Falcons, from Mr. Blank, to Thomas, to Coach Smith and the players throughout the whole organization are really dedicated to becoming the most sustainable and greenest team in the NFL," Adler said. "We're the world's largest recycler so I think we're on our way."
