Roastar and the Wausau Woodchucks Team Up for a More Sustainable Stadium Experience

With so many people attending games at the stadium each season, even the smallest change to recycling practices would make a big impact. When we approached the Woodchucks with some ideas for sustainability initiatives, they were already eager to make some improvements.

Ryan Treu, the Woodchucks’ President and GM, brought a fantastic idea to the table: swap out plastic cups in high-traffic areas for reusable, recyclable aluminum ones. We’d seen this strategy work in other stadiums, and it felt like the perfect starting point. The extra support from Roastar was just what they needed to help make it happen.

Were aluminum cups more expensive than plastic? Yep. Did that stop us? Not even close.

With limited resources, we focused on high-impact areas like party decks and event sections—places where lots of drinks are poured and even more memories are made. Fans loved the new cups. Not only did they help us reduce plastic use, but they also doubled as keepsakes, with many attendees bringing them home to reuse again and again.

The result? Less plastic waste, more awareness, and a pretty neat souvenir to boot.

We knew from the start that one product swap wouldn’t fix everything, so we layered in support where it mattered most:

• Clear signage on bins to make recycling a no-brainer.

• Educational materials to guide fans on where their waste should go.

• Conversations with the City and Marathon County, since Athletic Park is city-owned and managed by the county, to ensure both entities understood our goals and to identify opportunities to align our efforts with broader municipal priorities.

Fans started engaging with the signage. Stadium staff adjusted their systems to capture more recyclables. And bit by bit, we saw awareness shift in real time.

But our initiatives were just the beginning. Seeing the impact, Athletic Park reassessed its entire waste management strategy, adding more recycling bins and improving infrastructure to handle recyclables more effectively.

For the 2025 season, we've started a collection program with the Woodchucks and Marathon County Solid Waste so that fans can recycle cups at the stadium for a cause. Proceeds from recycling the aluminum will benefit The Neighbors' Place, a local nonprofit that provides food and basic necessities.

In Ryan’s words: “We are grateful for our partner’s support and expertise as we focus on improving our current efforts in the stadium to minimize the team’s single-use plastic at the ballpark. Awareness and education are key as we work together to minimize impact on the planet and continually improve sustainability efforts.”

We’re not done. We’re still exploring better ways to measure success, having conversations about scaling the cup program, and looking for new ways to improve signage, infrastructure, and awareness—and we’re more motivated than ever. When local businesses, local teams, and local government come together around sustainability, real progress happens. We’ve seen it ourselves—and so have Woodchuck fans.

One season down, many more to come! We’re proud of the progress we’ve made—and even more excited about what comes next.

Learn more about our other sustainability initiatives.