Waste Management Inc. said its waste diversion effort at the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament surpassed last year’s record 97-percent rate.

The Houston-based Waste Management said in a news release it is on track to divert 100 percent of the Phoenix Open’s waste away from landfills and into recycling and composting facilities, as part of the tournament’s Zero Waste Challenge.

Waste Management expects final diversion results to be available in April.

The company said it launched the zero waste initiative at last year’s tournament. The result was that the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open achieved the highest diversion rate of any major sporting event and was the first-ever major sporting event not to use trash receptacles.

“Considering the record-breaking crowds on Friday and Saturday of this year’s tournament, our goal to divert 100 percent of tournament waste away from landfills is a significant undertaking,” said Dave Aardsma, Waste Management chief sales and marketing officer.