King County's Solid Waste Division Manager Rod Hansen today praised the PGA and Waste Management for undertaking a major, coordinated effort to recycle plastic tossed away by golf fans at the PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond. The Puget Sound region's environmental ethic, a little help from Waste Management and a new uniform style of beverage container at the tournament are making recycling possible.

Up to 30,000 golf fans are expected each day at the seven-day event and Waste Management, which will provide garbage and recycling service, is preparing to collect a truckload of plastic bottles each day. That would equal approximately 30 cubic yards of plastic a day and 200 cubic yards over the life of the event. This recycling will save space in King County's Cedar Hills Landfill.

"More than 80% of King County residents put plastic, glass and paper out at the curb for recycling each week, which shows you how important recycling is to our Northwest values," said Hansen, manager of King County's Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Division. "The people of King County and our environment benefit from the extra effort made by the PGA and Waste Management to recycle plastic at this tournament. They are to be commended for their effort."

Recycling plastic at previous PGA championships was difficult because a variety of different types of containers were mixed together in recycling bins. At Sahalee nearly all beverages will be served in one type of plastic bottle. The only exceptions will be souvenir beer glasses and cranberry juice in glass bottles. To reduce the likelihood of contamination of the plastic, Waste Management purchased 80 clear green plastic recycling cans and 3,000 clear liners so spectators can easily see the type of containers being collected.

Collecting recyclables and garbage at each golf hole will be among the duties of the 2,600 PGA volunteers. As each bag fills, the volunteers will take them back to the main staging area and waiting containers. Even with recycling, Waste Management expects to collect and transport about 400 tons of garbage from Sahalee to the Factoria Transfer Station.

King County residents recycled 1,600 tons of plastic bottles last year through curbside collection. Additionally, they recycled 42,000 tons of newspaper, 49,000 tons of mixed paper and 1,650 tons of aluminum cans.

More Information on the PGA Tournament

Updated: August 6, 1998