Photo: Amanda Wills, Earth911
With 500,000 expected attendees, the Waste Management Phoenix Open has the potential for a large environmental footprint. But this year’s event has a Zero Waste Challenge, including the presence of zero trash cans on the course.
This is the third year that Waste Management is sponsoring the golf tournament, and it will once again feature nearly 500 recycling ambassadors to monitor what is being thrown away. Waste Management is also working with all food vendors to minimize waste in the first place, such as keeping beverages in their original containers instead of pouring them into cups.
Fans looking for trash cans will have a few alternatives on-site: recycling bins for paper and plastics and compost bins for food waste. Attendees can also utilize Greenopolis reverse vending machines, which will provide discount coupons.
“The Zero Waste Challenge is an incredible opportunity for Waste Management to energize and educate this broad audience about our efforts to triple the amount of recyclable materials nationwide by the year 2020,” said Waste Management senior vice president Duane Woods. “As a company committed to extracting the most value possible from all of the materials we manage, we continue to look for ways to make WMPO the greenest tournament on the PGA Tour.”
The Waste Management Phoenix Open is still looking for Recycling Ambassador volunteers. The tournament takes place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 at TPC Scottsdale.
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