As of September 4th, the US Open Green Initiative has successfully diverted lots of waste and has almost collected a hundred tons of trash. The amount of waste collected is a 22-ton increase over the total amount of waste collected at the US Open in 2011. All this has happened because of the USTA’s collection expansion in the Food Village, and also including the Arthur Ashe Stadium eateries this year.
The compostable waste collected included food waste and compostable service-ware. Since the fans also supported this initiative, as of 4th, the total collection of all wastes was at an all-time high.
The US Open Green Initiative
A commendable effort by the members made the US Open Green Initiative a success in 2011 and almost fourteen tons of glass was recycled. By doing so, a lot of energy was saved, which was eventually used to power the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights for the entire 2011 US Open.
The 2012 US Open has seen quite few green initiatives taken by the group and followed by the fans. Even though the initiative has shown great results so far, the USTA will continue its recycling program wherein fans are supposed to participate and recycle the trash on a one-to-one ratio or recycling receptacles and trash.
Used tennis balls after matches and practice sessions are collected by the group and provided to various youth and community organizations all over the country. The US Open kitchens generate about 12,000 gallons of food grease, which will be eventually converted into biodiesel fuel.
Almost 21,000 pounds of food gotten from these kitchens will be donated to the needy communities. Over eighty tons of fan and food waste after collection will be turned into compost and used for farming and landscapes.
Recycled material napkins part of the eco-friendly promotional items
Almost 2.4 million paper napkins are provided in the general concession area, and are made out of recycled material. The printed materials provided at the US Open including the tickets will be part of the compostable waste, which is almost 30 % of the post-consumer waste. Apart from the eco-friendly promotional items provided, motion sensor dispensers have replaced the paper towel dispensers.
Other measures
In order to motivate the fans to utilize mass transit at the US Open, Esurance, which is the official car insurance for this year’s US Open, will give away a $4.50 MetroCard to about 150 fans. The company will do this every single day during the course of the 2 week event.
Source: http://www.10sballs.com/2012/09/07/us-open-hits-landmark-of-100-tons-of-compostable-waste/
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.