Olympians …NASCAR …Prof Sports …and UrthPact! – Green Sports Alliance Summit 2017

May 25, 2017

Green Sports Alliance Summit event promo photoUrthPact is a proud sponsor of this year’s Green Sports Alliance Summit, June 27-29 at the LEED Platinum Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California –home of the Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team. We’re excited to be a part of the growing movement to make a positive environmental and social impact on the sports industry and its fans.

The Green Sports Alliance will bring sports leaders together from 15 leagues, representing 14 countries at the Golden 1 Center, a venue that’s entirely powered by renewable energy. With a theme of PLAY GREENER™, the seventh annual Summit aims to accelerate fan engagement; educate youth on sustainability through sports; and leverage the $485 billion sports industry to tackle energy, waste, water, food, transportation, and other sustainability issues in sports.

Olympians Mary Harvey and Jill Savery, Hall of Famers Bill Walton and Peter “PT” Townend, NASCAR stars Joey McColm and Julia Landauer, and numerous other athletes who care about our world’s future will share the stage with Yankees VP Operations Doug Behar, Mercedes-Benz Stadium General Manager Scott Jenkins, Arizona State Athletic Director Ray Anderson, and other team executives who lead the way in greening sports venues.

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ICAW 2017: Biodegradable Plastic? Compostable Plastic? BioCompost? What’s the difference?

May 11, 2017

compostable coffee ring in a clear bucket of dirt.In honor of International Compost Awareness Week this week we’re going to focus on compostable plastic – what it is, what it can be used for, and how it can benefit the environment.

Because being “green” and “organic” are seen as positive attributes for a long list of products and services, these terms have been adopted by marketers and muddied to such an extent that it can be difficult to truly understand what really is earth-friendly. The term “compostable” falls into this category, so we’re going to help clarify things in this post.

Compostable plastic has been defined by ASTM International standards D6400 and D6868. These global standards require that for plastics to be labeled “compostable” they must biodegrade within a certain period of time and leave no toxic residue in the soil. Plastic that is compostable is a bioproduct manufactured from renewable resources such as plant-based materials.

Specifically, ASTM Standard D6400 covers plastics and products made from plastics that are designed to be composted in municipal and industrial aerobic composting facilities. This specification is intended to establish the requirements for labeling of materials and products, including packaging made from plastics, as “compostable in municipal and industrial composting facilities.”

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