WM’s zero-waste method for Golf’s Raucous Phoenix Open Catching On In The Sports World

Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP) – Phoenix Open’s Famous Sprit Removal 16. Hole is one of the unique Golf Glasses, where the normally pagan sport releases with stage-style seating, deafening music and an enthusiastic advertiser who introduces players in a scene that is more WWE than PGA Tour.

It is safe to say that being an environmental conscience is not the first thing in the fans’ mind.

After all, there is usually a lot of garbage when Thousands of people get a little wasted.

But the tournament – which is sponsored by waste management in the last 16 years – is an unlikely incubator for ideas on how to make major sporting events easier at Mother Nature. It is certified as a zero waste event of UL Solutions in the last 12 years.

“It’s very much our laboratory,” said Lee Spivak, director of WM’s advisory service team. “We try an idea, try an approach to a customer. Then we scale it up here and take it to other customers. “

WM’s success in getting Phoenix to open a zero-waste event has made the business a hot item in the sports world. Spivak said that WM now has a partnership with PGA Tour, Major League Baseball and approx. 15 ballparks, providing practical advice on how to reduce the Recycle Bin, although certain locations are not quite ready to go zero waste. They also work with different teams in NFL, NBA and NHL.

The idea is if environmentally friendly ideas can work during this week’s bully atmosphere of TPC Scottsdale, they can work almost everywhere.

This is a tournament that draws 200,000 fans to the course on a good day, far more than even an NFL stadium. Setup of zero waste is massive: There are 4,800 recycling and compost trays, 29 large compactors and 30 tanks to collect melting ice for recycling in portable toilets in this week’s tournament, and the process is controlled by 85 WM full-time employees and 600 temporary workers .

WM says more than 750 tonnes of recycled materials were gathered at last year’s event. Even the temporary building materials – things like peat and scaffolding – are reused by 238 tonnes donated to local organizations.

“Everything has to be brought on the course, and then everything has to be taken off the field,” said WMS Ashley Haight, who oversees more golf tournaments. “Where stadiums may make some step -by -step changes over the years, we get another shot (on golf courses) every single year.”

On Phoenix Open’s 16. Hole is served concessions in paper cups and eaten with bamboo forks, while spirits and wine bottles are recycled and transformed into recyclable glass products through a local supplier. Over the years, some ideas have worked better than others.

Doug Janison is the director of special events for M Culinary Concepts and has worked with WM for several years and tailor his food offer to the zero-waste strategy. He said the process has come a long way since the days of thick plastic sheets and heavy napkins.

“It’s a developing process,” Janison said. “No lid, no straw, no coffee cup. It’s a temporary event, six days you’ve got to rough it. “

Janison joked mostly about the “ru it” part. The food is still very good for the event with braised pork ribs and drawn chicken among the offers on the 16th hole.

Some menu ideas have fallen by the road due to the zero-waste method-milkshakes are hard to drink with paper straw-but other things like soft serving ice have been a fine replacement.

In the end, WM and its partners say the benefits of zero waste at the Phoenix Open outweigh any of the negatives. Spivak said the hope is that the tournament can show sports fans and other companies that a more environmentally friendly approach can work and become normal.

“When they start caring, the ring effect of the impact doesn’t really end,” Spivak said. “It’s just getting bigger and bigger. That’s the pride I feel in this tournament. “

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