Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia
The “Greenest Game on the Grass”
By Taylor Richardson
It is always a step in the green direction when a large company takes on an environmentally responsible initiative. With that being said, the Waste Management Phoenix Open has become a stage for sustainable and eco-friendly actions. Waste Management initiated their green platform with the Zero Waste Challenge that started in 2012, which strives to redirect at least 90 percent of the tournament’s waste away from landfills and towards composting and recycling. The program continued in 2013 and is now booming in 2014 with the addition of several new features. This year, new aspects have been added to maximize the impact left on patrons and to make the event the “Greenest Game on Grass.”
The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the PGA Tour’s most highly attended tournament. Held at the TPC Scottsdale golf course from January 27 through the February 2, more than 150,000 visitors are expected to walk through the gates on any given day. With that kind of foot traffic, Waste Management has upped their green ante with the introduction of their “Zero Waste Stations.” The three brightly colored stations are made of 40 yard dumpsters that have been equipped with flat screen TVs and a knowledgeable staff to educate visitors and assist them in properly disposing of their used materials to make the Zero Waste Challenge a reality. Marketing the #greenestshow, Waste Management is encouraging an increase in engagement and interaction at the tournament. The televisions will be displaying a live social media feed alongside facts about living a more sustainable life at work and home. But the flat screen TVs won’t be the only thing to catch the eye of the green conscious. About 140,000 recycled golf balls, donated by The First Tee of Phoenix, have been used to redesign the eight-ton Waste Management sign. This rotating beacon of sustainability and recycling is placed in the lake of the 18th hole.
Waste Management Phoenix Open tickets can be purchased at www.wmphoenixopen.com/tickets
What a very nice article with regards to the “green” at this years TPC. This year will be the first time I have not attended the Tournament in decades. I would have loved to seen the displays and also for my first time in my life watched a TV mounted to a dumpster. I found this most informative about the “Green Living”. Do anyone know of any other golf events that will be host to this type of event? Also has Taylor Richardson written any other article involving golf and “green” and if so please tell me how to access them.
Thank you! Here is a link to other articles we’ve done on golf: https://greenlivingmag.com/tag/golf/