PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks are adding a little green to their color-scheme.
In July, the D-backs became the first MLB team and pro Arizona sports venue to install a reusable cup program.
“It's something that we've been committed to for a long time," Ami Lyn Pierce, Diamondbacks VP of government affairs said. "We feel like it's part of our responsibility to the community.”
The same cups reused game after game to reduce single-use waste.
“We certainly have an expectation that's going to be very popular, and it has been so far,” Pierce added.
The D-backs partnered with Bold Reuse that opened the first ‘wash hub’ in the state in July, which is located just down the street from Chase Field.
“Once we had operations ready, we asked the teams who's ready to go and the Diamondbacks signed up," Heather Watkins, Chief revenue officer of Bold Reuse said.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality had grant money to give out for the first time in 14 years. Giving Bold Reuse $208,000 in April for the wash hub that had it's grand opening in July.
“Oh, I was so excited," J.B. Shaw, Recycling coordinator of ADEQ said enthusiastically. "We don't have a lot of reuse in Arizona yet. So, we're really trying to build that market.”
The program is in a testing phase where it's only located in Bar-S All-You-Can-Eat seats. There are marked bins where, after you're done with your drink, you dispose of the cup. After the game, the cups are taken to the wash-hub to be cleaned and dried then brought back to Chase field.
"We're seeing between like 900 to 1000 cups a game." Watkins said. "We are doing it in partnership with Pepsi. If this is successful we're hoping to launch it stadium wide for next season.”
The program started in July and had an 85% return rate in the first few weeks.
"This is actually what I'm most excited about, Watkins said. "People are actually putting it into the right return bin and not into landfill without us asking."
In the first five days, over 2,100 cups were washed and returned. The hub is open seven days a week and is able to wash 100,000 cups a day with four employees.
According to Bold Reuse, a reusable cup creates 83% less carbon dioxide than a compostable cup after 25 uses.
“It's going to reduce the landfill which improves our soil quality, air quality, water quality, protects the public and our health," Shaw stated.
Bold Reuse also works with other companies around Arizona and the country. Watkins is an Arizona State grad, but helped start the business in Portland where she lives now.
"The Portland Trailblazers came on board with the stadium wide reuse implementation, everyone in the country wants it," Watkins said. "The fact that Phoenix is one of the first cities to get a hub like this is really exciting."
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