Ending with the Beginning in Mind
Plastic pollution knows no boundaries.
Part III: Single-use Plastics, Recycling and the Golf Industry Finale
No one would expect Tiger Woods to play an entire round of golf with only one type of club in his bag (although playing in a tournament with 14 drivers would make for an interesting display of skill). Similarly, no one should expect our current recycling system to manage our country’s current plastics output because simply stated, it can’t. Recycling is not the end-all solution we want it to be. But it is an incredibly important tool if it is presented as it truly is: an imperfect system in need of an overhaul and a small, introductory first step to creating a more sustainable planet.
In the Beginning...
Four months ago I began a journey down the rabbit hole to examine aspects of the relationship between single-use plastics, recycling and the golf industry. In the introductory article to this four-part series, I shared alarming stats speaking to the volume of the plastic problem our planet faces and used that to identify the issue that all of us, including the golf industry, must tackle together.
In the second article, I identified the need for golf equipment manufacturers to join the circular economy by creating end of life solutions for their products and packaging and urged them to be transparent about the sourcing of their inputs while addressing their lack of leadership in the move to a net-zero emissions world.
I dedicated the third article of this series to sharing recycling definitions, truths and trends to better inform how the recycling system actually works and show how the golf industry can navigate its fragmented landscape.
With this final article, it is my goal to broadly identify key material waste issues and openly discuss actionable ways those of us in the golf industry can do something to join the fight.
I’ll See Your Issue and Raise You a Solution...
Issue: Recapturing lost value of used products and materials
Solution: Invest in a circular economy
Plastics -
The movement to lessen our dependence on plastic has created less demand for existing plastic to be recycled and used in new products. Golf apparel companies like Adidas, OceanTee and Radmor are among others specifically addressing this issue by constructing golf clothing and shoes composed of ocean plastics, water bottles and synthetic fibers like polyester.
Glass -
Glass is one of the most expensive recyclable commodities to move on the secondary market because of its weight and fragility. New Zealand based Expleco offers a solution as a company that manufactures glass crushers turning beer and wine bottles into a sand and pebble-like aggregate resource that can be safely used in bunker renovation projects, as pebbles for landscaping projects or as material in concrete to repair potholes, damaged cart paths or even building blocks. Because Expleco’s equipment is built to last, this solution should be viewed not as an expense, but as an investment in a sustainable and circular future.
Organic Waste -
Lumber, Wood, and Leaves -
Golf facilities with tight course maintenance budgets would do well to invest in wood chippers and leaf shredders to manage the annual process of clearing dead trees, downed limbs and fallen leaves. Given the expense of purchasing mulch, this method offers ROI while reusing what nature provides to beautify the golf course.
Food Waste -
According to Project Drawdown, about one-third of the world’s food never makes it to our dinner tables meaning all the labor hours, seeds, land, fertilizer, financial capital and emissions created were all for naught. Food waste constitutes just about 8% of global emissions!
A new composting program certainly isn’t going to fix this large scale issue but it will permit the golf facility to divert food waste from trash cans and landfills to flower beds allowing for some recaptured value. Additional measures golf facilities can undertake include building partnerships with local food pantries and homeless shelters as nearly 1 in 4 Americans have experienced food insecurity in the past year.
Single stream recycling increases recycling rates but also increases contamination sending more recyclables to landfills.
Issue: Fragmented materials management infrastructure
Solution: Nationalize recycling and waste disposal systems
As discussed in the third article, not all Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) are alike which means no matter where you go in this beautiful country of ours, you will NOT be able to recycle the same way. One way to fix this would be to nationalize our recycling and waste infrastructure, giving the entire system a much needed makeover. But, as discussed in this recent WasteDive article, President Biden’s American Jobs Plan does little to address this issue.
That puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of local business leaders (including the golf community) to collaborate with their local municipalities and waste haulers to openly discuss how to better manage the broken system and create solutions that reduce costs and improve environmental conditions.
Issue: Rising costs of disposing of waste and recyclables
Solution: Understand your waste streams
The disposal of waste and recyclables costs more than just paying to have it hauled away (carbon emissions from transport, lost value of wasted materials in a secondary market, land needed for landfills and recycling facilities, etc.). Here are a few ways to recapture lost value or lower disposal costs:
Know What Can and Can’t Be Recycled -
It is vital all golf industry professionals understand what recyclable materials their local waste facilities accept. Once that is established...
Perform a Waste Audit -
To lower a cost or fix a problem, you must first identify the root cause. Waste audits force you to get your hands dirty sorting waste and identifying opportunities to cut costs upstream (i.e. develop procurement policies, reassess vendors and seek alternative packaging options) and down (increased recycle rates, decreased weight of waste, reuse and repurposing of salvageable items). Golf facilities would be hard-pressed to find a better way to elicit cross-departmental teamwork than combatting an issue that plagues every department's bottom line. Enlisting the help of local conservation organizations, science clubs or the university sustainability department will go a long way to garnering goodwill in the community and increase access and inclusion. Here is great guidance on how to perform a waste audit from start to finish.
Initiate a Recycling Program -
If your facility does not have a recycling program, contact your waste hauler for guidance on how to start one (or call us and we can help!). Enlist a staff member passionate about sustainability and give them the freedom to create a recycling program, allowing that employee to gain valuable problem solving and collaboration skills for the future. The goal of any recycling program is two-fold: 1) increase your recycling rate and 2) decrease the overall amount of materials being recycled by reducing, reusing and repurposing before recycling.
Start a Composting Program -
From grass clippings to food waste, golf facilities have a wonderful opportunity to recapture value by creating their own fertilizer through compost programs. Not only will you cut costs in the decreased weight of your waste but that new flower bed in front of the clubhouse will happily utilize that nutrient-rich organic material. Even if you cannot use the compost created, reach out to local municipalities and agricultural entities to see how your facility can help.
Single-use plastics like this water bottle more often than not end up in our oceans, lakes and other bodies of water.
Issue: Ending our reliance on single-use plastics
Solution: Kick them out of the club
The simple act of banning these single-use plastics at golf courses is akin to hitting every green in regulation.
Plastic Tees -
Golfers - Because wooden tees frequently break, plastic tees came into popularity thanks to their near indestructibility. But we golfers can do our part by refusing to use new plastic tees, reusing ones found on the tee box and placing ones we don’t use in the trash. Leaving them behind means they end up in our waterways, buried in the turf or increased maintenance costs for the course staff because of damaged mower blades.
Golf Professionals - Ban the use of plastic tees and stop stocking your pro shops and golf carts with them. Offer to take them off your golfer’s hands with a trade-in system for bamboo or responsible sourced wooden tees. A trade-in program will drive traffic to your golf shop and your subtle commitment will show your golfing community you understand the issue and are actively addressing it. Give consideration to purchasing tees from OceanTee as their bamboo tees are biodegradable, Forest Stewardship Council certified and plastic free. Additionally, 25% of their profits are donated to charities focused on tackling plastic pollution and promoting healthy marine environments.
Plastic straws, utensils and bags -
Food and Beverage Departments - Yes we golfers need to eat when we make the turn but do us a favor and offer your food items to us in vessels with utensils that are compostable or biodegradable. If you must use plastic, ensure it has a Resin Identification Code of either 1, 2 or 5 so it has a good chance of being recycled.
As for plastic bags, if you must use them, ask golfers to return them after the round or communicate with service staff to collect and properly dispose of them. Most grocery stores act as collection depots for plastic bags but it requires getting them there. If this seems like a lot of work, banning them would surely simplify the process. Show true environmental leadership and replace them with reusable or organic paper bags. Currently, only 8 states have plastic bag bans and many others have legislation preemptively stalled preventing that number from growing even more.
Plastic water bottles -
Golfers - Please start bringing your own water from home in a reusable bottle. Your golf bag has that water bottle slot for a reason so why not put it to use?
Golf Facilities - If you are going to provide water bottles for your golfers, ensure they are made from recycled plastic. Selling branded reusable water bottles in your golf shop can add an additional revenue stream and giving new members a ‘members only’ water bottle is a nice touch to show them you care about their health and the health of the environment.
We owe it to ourselves to preserve the natural beauty of the world’s golf courses by ending our reliance on single-use plastics.
Let’s Get Started
The rate at which plastic is taking over our world, infecting our ecosystems and infiltrating our human bodies, is beyond alarming. Because of golf’s interdependent relationship with the environment, the continued degradation in health of the latter will undoubtedly lead to a decline in health of the former.
To those in the golf industry that think we are immune to the negative effects of our single-use plastic and material waste crisis, I say get your head out of the bunker and let’s begin to figure out how we collaborate to tackle this growing hazard that sits before us.
