How do you encourage a stadium full of baseball fans to recycle more plastics? Show them how their used plastic bottles can have a second chance as valuable new products.
On Sunday, September 13, Plastics Make it Possible® did just that by bringing a unique recycling vending machine to Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners. Baseball fans at the stadium were invited to section 128 could deposit a plastic beverage bottle and cap in the vending machine to be recycled. In exchange, the vending machine dispensed a free, special-edition T-shirt made with recycled plastics, a tangible and practical representation of how used plastics can get a second chance.
Prior to the game, the Seattle Mariners’ very own superhero, Captain Plastic, donned a recycled plastic T-shirt and threw out the first pitch. Captain Plastic’s mission is to help Safeco Field lighten its environmental footprint as much as possible, and on Sunday he came to the rescue by encouraging fans to visit the vending machine.
Baseball fans flocked to the vending machine, depositing more than 1,000 plastic bottles—a true home run for recycling. Fans of all ages helped contribute to sustainability and learned that by recycling their everyday plastics, they can help the environment and give valuable materials a second chance.
To make T-shirts like those dispensed by the Plastics Make it Possible® vending machine, plastic bottles are cleaned, melted, and stretched into a fine thread. This thread is then woven into a soft, durable fabric used to make a wide range of clothing items—from comfy T-shirts to stylish dresses to rugged fleece jackets.
In addition to beverage bottles, it’s easy to recycle a wide range of everyday plastics, such as yogurt and margarine containers, milk jugs, condiment containers, deli containers, laundry detergent jugs, shampoo and conditioner bottles, and much more. Recycling these plastics helps the environment by keeping valuable materials from going to waste.
The Mariners and Safeco Field were ideal partners for Plastics Make It Possible® due to their deep-seated commitment to sustainability. Since 2006, the Mariners have been leaders in sustainable ballpark operations by educating fans, partners, and employees to make choices that help protect the environment—at the game and at home. In 2014, the Mariners recycled or composted more than 85 percent of all waste generated at Safeco Field, a major increase from just 12 percent in 2005.
While the Mariners didn’t win the baseball game, with the help of the Plastics Make it Possible® vending machine and eco-conscious fans, they did hit one out of the ballpark.
