Baseball Teams Going Green

Hello Readers,

October is here and it is time for playoff baseball! It made me think what are baseball teams doing to be more environmentally friendly. I found an article from 7 News in Boston about Fenway Park. Fenway park is the home of the Boston Red Sox who won the AL East division title for the first time in 12 years just a couple of days ago.

The article said that Fenway would start to become more environmentally friendly by improving their recycling and trash programs. Solar panels are also being considered to lower the utilities bills. Fenway is one of the oldest stadiums in Major League Baseball and you can read more about the stadium here.

The plan to make Fenway more environmentally friendly is planned to be finished around 2012, according to the article by 7 News in Boston. Red Sox president Larry Lucchino was quoted in the article, "We are not only committed to preserving the history, beauty, and integrity of Fenway Park, but we are also determined to enhance the park's environmental attributes so it can serve our team, our fans, and our community in the 21st Century as well as it did in the 20th Century."

The article pointed out that the Red Sox family have already started the new recycling program by adding recycling bins and according to the article and the Red Sox, "The Red Sox said they already have gathered 10 tons of cardboard in 2007 -- enough to save 170 mature trees, 4,600 gallons of oil, 70,000 gallons of water and 41,000 kilowatt hours of electricity."

I always wondered what large stadiums like this did to recycle because these pro teams have so much money and they can really make a difference if they make a conscience effort.

"As a professional sports franchise, we have the opportunity to reach millions," Lucchino said in the article with 7 News is Boston. "We will continue to increase our efforts to protect the environment in a cost-competitive way."

Towards the bottom of the article it did mention that Fenway is starting to use more environmentally friendly foods such as locally grown organic produce.

You can check this article out here.

There are other sports teams that are doing the same thing. In another article called, "Environmentally Friendly Buildings," Kelly Pedone writes about how facilities are saving the earth's resources and money.

The Oakland A's in 2005 replaced their plastic cups with compostable cups, according to the article. Pedone said in her article, "The organic material used for the cups is made from corn and is certified by the Biodegradable Product Institute. The cups turn into 100 percent compost within 30 to 60 days instead of taking months or years to compost as traditional plastic cups." To learn more about the Biodegradable Product Institute and the products they offer click here. The A's organization is also recycling more, according to the article, "Tree trimmings and grass clippings are gathered and placed into a separate recycling debris box, reducing trash by 39.22 tons annually. Bottles and cans are sorted by hand and placed in a locked storage container until they’re picked up. Food waste from caterer kitchens is either donated to area food banks or emptied into special three-yard bins and recycled via compost."

The Washington Nationals are opening a new baseball stadium next year in 2008 and according to the article by Pedone the builders of the Nationals stadium are required to have, "A sustainable urban site, transit-oriented design, water conservation and cleanliness, use of environmentally sensitive materials, energy efficiency, materials with recycled content, and waste recycling among other measures," according to Pedone in the article.

If you are interested in recycling there are two sites you should check out. The first is Recycling in the USA and Recycle City. Also check out Pedone's article here.

I was pleased to read that sports organizations are making a effort to make their stadiums more environmentally friendly because these organizations have so much money and resources to make a difference and with all the trash that piles up in stadiums, you can tell by these articles that doing a little can make a huge impact.