CenturyLink Field and Safeco Field, homes of the National Football League Seahawks and Major League Baseball (MLB) Mariners, respectively, introduced a Strawless in Seattle campaign last September. More than 100 local businesses joined with the Lonely Whale Foundation to help eliminate plastic waste.

Safeco Field is the most sustainable baseball facility today, recycling 96 percent of all waste generated last season. As a result, the Mariners earned MLB’s Green Glove Award for 2017. Every food service item is recyclable or compostable, and cleaning crews manually separate waste items from recyclables after every game.

The Mariners have been playing under energy-efficient LED lights since 2014, the first MLB ball club to do so. The team also added a 450-square-foot urban garden before the 2016 season that provides fresh vegetables and herbs for the concession stands.

This article appears in the June 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.