Eco-products brings compostable packaging to the basketball court

Iranpolymer/Baspar  Eco-products, a brand of US-based packaging and food services company Novolex, is partnering with the Portland Trail Blazers, a professional basketball team, as its official zero waste partner.

The company will provide its compostable packaging, including plates, bowls, trays, utensils, cups, straws, for food and drinks consumed by fans at the Moda Center, the team’s indoor sports arena. Eco-products uses a wide array of materials for its compostable packaging, and the Trail Blazers will be using a mix of bioplastics,  bioplastic-lined paperboard, and molded fiber items, all of which are BPI-Certified compostable, Wendell Simonson at Eco-Products, told Sustainable Plastics. Eco-Products will also be providing Rip City Reuse cups for Moda Center’s reusable drink ware programme through a partnership with its Novolex sister company, Waddington North America. The programme already eliminated the use of over 8,000 single-use cups from the 2023-2024 season.

We’re thrilled to see compostables, recyclables and reusables working together at scale in a venue like Moda Center,” said Ian Jacobson, president of Eco-Products. “The culture and fanbase in the Pacific Northwest make it the perfect place to try this for the first time, and we feel lucky to be a part of it.”

Fans can easily participate in the compost programme, as all waste bins throughout the arena also feature a compost bin, where Trail Blazer fans can put their plates, bowls, utensils, alongside any food scraps.  At the end of events, compost bins are sorted to remove any contamination before local hauler COR Disposal & Recycling collects the compost and delivers it to a fifth-generation Oregon farmer, Annen Brothers. The farming ? company then composts the material into nutrient-rich soil which is then utilised for farming and growing Oregon hazelnuts.

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