Minnesota Twins & Eco-Products Team Up Against Ballpark Waste
GO TWINS, GO GREEN
SituationTarget Field opened in 2010 with a seating capacity of 39,021, and the goal of becoming the greenest ballpark in America. As traditional sports concessions create a huge amount of waste each year, the Minnesota Twins sought out to improve on their already impressive environmental initiatives, and in 2015 focused efforts on migrating to fully compostable Ingeo-based food serviceware products in all concession and food service areas.SolutionThrough partnership with Eco-Products and NatureWorks, concessions packaging such as plastic beer cups, nacho trays, portion cups, and straws were replaced with alternatives made out of compostable materials, including low carbon footprint Ingeo, allowing fans to deposit food packaging and utensils along with leftover food into compost bins.Strategic Objectives
- Increase annual waste diversion rate
- Educate fans on the benefits of compostable products
- Implement a long term program seeking zero waste
- Position organization as an industry leader in sustainability
Outcomes
- Improved waste diversion rate from 61% to 79% in two years
- Compostable organics disposal bin signage and GO TWINS, GO GREEN video successfully building fan awareness to reduce impact on the environment.
- All Target Field food scraps and compostable concession products now diverted from landfill and redirected to a commercial composting facility.
- 2016 Environmental Initiative Award finalist