Friends,

As I begin to think about the PDGA marketing plan for 2008, I cannot escape the realization that we (the entirity of our disc golf community) should be more involved with the environmental (ie. "Green") movement than we currently are.

Therefore, I am opening up this thread to begin the sharing of some ideas on how our players, our tournaments, our clubs, and our sport/industry as a whole could employ more green practices.

Here's a start...with over 750 PDGA-sanctioned events a year and an average say of 50 players per event, that's a minimum of 37,500 scorecards that are used per year.

How about reusable scorecards? They are erasable (via some lamination technique) and would cut that number in half if only a fraction of the events used them. We see these cards in use more-and-more around here in the Mid-Atlantic Region and they work just fine. Anyone else?

Please share some of your thoughts on how we can bring the envrironmental sensitivities that most of our disc golf community possesses more into the forefront of our sport.

Thanks for your consideration.
John Duesler
PDGA Marketing Director

How about the Am merch system that provides thousands of unneeded and unused discs made from hydrocarbons? Lower entry fees with ribbon only prizes that could go in scrapbooks to reduce the need for spray dusting agents to clean trophies and plaques?

Print scorecards on both sides of recycleable paper so they can be used for two rounds.

Keep in mind that there is a lot that is currently done that could already be promoted along these lines. Disc golf courses use a fraction (if any at all) of the fertilizer, weed killers and other herbicides, pest contol poisons, and water compared to our ball golf counterpart. We use less energy for maintenance work (diggers, mowers and so on) and playing (limited cart use). In the end, we mostly play on about as green a course as possible, especially compared to the poison dump that is a ball golf course.

Yes...absolutely true. And I often tout that as clear examples of our already significant efforts towards environmental friendliness.

But I guess I'm asking, what do we do operationally once the courses go in. Maybe another example might be reducing tournament entrance fees to players who carpool to an event.

Or using a portion of the PDGA fees to plant a few trees in an effort to be "carbon neutral."

Anyway, thanks for your input, though. What you say is very true!

John D.

...seems like erasable scorecards are a terrible idea from a documentation standpoint. pencil whipping would be all the easier.

JD, is today's news tidbit what got you thinking along these lines or perhaps your catalog arrived... :D:o

http://www.styledash.com/2007/08/16/victorias-secret-goes-green/

* Find a volunteer to recycle cans and bottles.

* For less competitive tournaments, you could give prizes (we've done this) for the most trash collected during a round.

I'm glad you started this thread, John, I think that the "green" part of disc golf is a great story and selling point. I don't know of any other sport where it is a stroke-able offense to either litter or damage the flora during competition.

Terry,

You were really one of the first persons I heard touting our "greenness" in Arizona at the summit a few years back. I've been trying to find a way to make it fun and easy, but that is a tough task with just the "sheer" (reference to Chuck's offering) number of events we sanction every year.

I quite vividly remembering you say that, "Disc golf is the only sport the penalizes players for doing any environmental harm." (i.e. breaking off a branch to clear the way for a throw, etc...)

So glad to have your support.
JOhn D.

hemp discs?

http://hampa.net/frisbee.jpg

seriously though, some of these ideas are great. from the looks of many of our older courses, the bigger challenge is in long term land mangement, forestry and other related issues. it goes far beyond recycled scorecards and picking up litter. we're beating our courses into uselessness in some cases. i'd love to see the discussion include long term solutions to these types of problems. i am already in discussions with the Audubon Society on a DG related green initiative... moving forward, but slowly.

I don't know if the re-usable scorecards are going to make us that much greener. You would need a pretty thick laminate to endure multiple events. The thicker the laminate, the more plastic is used. Then you have the worry of getting scorecards back from TD's. Shipping scorecards back and forth will be costly and use resources. Many TD's like to put the event sponsors on the scorecards.

I know from running multiple sanctioned events a year, I get alot of printed materials from the PDGA that I don't use because I have some left over from the last event. Every TD might not need payout tables, tour programs, membership forms and etc... What if you had a check off form as part of the sanctioning agreement as to what materials the TD needs in the packet? I would assume that there are alot of materials sent to TD's that end up in the trash.

It would be nice if the PDGA started printing materials primarily on recycled paper. Then we could state that we use recylced paper and use that logo on all of our materials.

Then you could alternate worlds between Highbridge and the IDGC every year so 500 people aren't driving between courses all week. :)

A big new problem is the proliferation of empty plastic bottles of water and other purchased liquids. Manufacturers rarely design these to be recyclable, and the containers quickly fill available trashcans and litter many courses I have played.

Many players have bought into this stuff, and it is unlikely that they could be persuaded that plain water in reusable water bottles is fine. But at least we could request that TD's never supply beverages in this form at their events.

One of the problems though is that in many states, the orange water jugs are not legal based on health regs unless sealed and refilled under sanitary conditions. That's partly why the commercial water bottles have come into play more and it's a common form for sponsorship to be provided.

Wow, hard to argue against green, but isn't this a personal or club responsibility issue, rather than a marketing issue with the PDGA? It is not like we have an anti-green reputation hanging over our head.

Nice, Peter.

How about the PDGA providing all new members with a high-quality, re-useable water bottle, branded and logo'd all over with the PDGA and the player's new PDGA number *instead* of a disc they'll never throw and most lose within two years? It's something they can carry and use *all* the time instead of put into a drawer.

It could be a merch option on the PDGA store, too, to purchase one - again, highly-branded and very distinctive - as a way to encourage re-use instead of all those stupid throw-aways.

When my family was at a Northern Waters event earlier this summer, all of us placed, and the three Ams all joyfully used their funny money to buy a supply of those re-useable water bottles with the Northern Waters logo on them.

P.S. Actually, it's kind of funny to think that some of the folks who most complain about coming up with PDGA dues each year probably spend a lot more than PDGA dues purchasing expensive bottled water that was shipped a long distance and in throw-away bottles. :D

Wow, hard to argue against green, but isn't this a personal or club responsibility issue, rather than a marketing issue with the PDGA? It is not like we have an anti-green reputation hanging over our head.



Marketing people "go with the strength" - in our case, this is a strength from the get-go.

...seems like erasable scorecards are a terrible idea from a documentation standpoint. pencil whipping would be all the easier.



On the surface this seem relevant but the reality is that someone looking to pencil whip is going to find a way. I've seen cards with all kinds of marks, erasures, etc. on them. Reusable score cards will not increase or decrease this problem IMO.

On the other hand, I've often thought about reusable score cards. I scuba dive and there are note placards that look like a mini clip board that are water resistant (proof). If you painted or printed a score card on such a board you'd have a waterproof score card that was highly reusable. (you use a crayon like marker on them.

Personally, I'd of much rather gotten something like this with my PDGA number on it than the free disc I got when I first joined.

A big new problem is the proliferation of empty plastic bottles of water and other purchased liquids. Manufacturers rarely design these to be recyclable, and the containers quickly fill available trashcans and litter many courses I have played.

Many players have bought into this stuff, and it is unlikely that they could be persuaded that plain water in reusable water bottles is fine. But at least we could request that TD's never supply beverages in this form at their events.



On the other hand, most of the tournaments played in Texas provide large coolers with water instead of bottles. The heat here requires a high intake of water and small bottles are cost prohibitive. I have a great freebe Innova water bottle that I use. It's dark gray and looks really nice on my cart! Again, I'd of much rather gotten a PDGA water bottle instead of the free disc I got.

While I value my PDGA mini as a keeper, the big disc was unnecessary. Most people who join have already committed to discs by the time they join and the free disc only has value for the logo.

BTW - this isn't meant to refute what Chuck is saying. I don't know the regulations, and it is possible that since everyone in the South is related anyway, they make an exception down here... :o

There are a handful of major venues that are known though out the community. If nothing else the NDGC. The PDGA should raise funds to put recycling barrels at those top venues that have a prominently displayed PDGA logo just below the Please Recycle sign. In fact, a program that raises funds and moves say 5% into purchasing recycling barrels for parks isn't such a bad idea.

I think it would be nice for the courses and the parks if every tournament could donate a tree or two to the park/course. Or a few well placed bushes. This would help at least threefold. 1. It would improve the course. 2. Improve the environment. 3. Show the city/parks etc that we are interested in maintaining, and developing the courses and the parks.

I have never used a paper scorecard except to turn in for tournaments, instead I use my Windows based PDA with a score program. Easy to use, easy to see the scores, plus it helps keep track of my courses and rounds. Would be great if we had enough of these type of items to use at tournaments:( But the white boards that use wax pencils may be a nice touch and choice.

Here are a few green thoughts from Disconcepts....

-I have recently passed the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Concerns (DHEC) exam to become a Certified Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Inspector. I hope to incorporate erosion control techniques into disc golf course projects. As of September 2006 ALL land disturbing activities in South Carolina greater than 1 acre require the contractor to apply for a grading permit and adhere to stricter laws dictated by the NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) Phase 2 regulations regarding erosion prevention and sediment control. Disc Golf luckily does not typically require doing extensive fairway grading but there certainly have been courses that have problems and closures due to erosion issues. I hope to help address some of the issues in the future.

-The installation of the DISConcepts rubber tee pads I sell already address some of the issues parks departments have with installing concrete tee pads which displace water. The rubber mats, which are highly porous, allow water to drain better. The pads are also produced using 100% recycled rubber. A few of my customers have asked recently about how many tires it takes to make one 5 x 10 x 1/2" recycled rubber LAUNCH PAD disc golf tee pad? Very good question! I was not even totally sure but did some research and am excited to announce that the answer is 10 tires! Every 18-hole course that installs our product can say that they saved 180 tires from going to a landfill. Through DISConcepts, disc golfers around the U.S. have already recycled more than 7000 tires from going to a landfill in the last few years. That is pretty GREEN!

- I am starting to take a closer look at products and methods that will help reduce erosion and trampling around the tee box and target areas due to heavy foot traffic. There are loads of great products that could be incorporated into disc golf course installation.

-I would also love to see one of the current target manufactures (or a new one) create a green target using 100% recycled products. Obviously the chains would need to stay the same but the top, cage, and pole could all be redesigned green. Imagine selling your parks department on a totally green course installation where the target, tees, signs, and benches were all installed using recycled products!

-Have any of the disc manufactures had any success in producing discs from post consumer recycled plastic? Or blended 50% new / 50% regrind? Just curious. That would be pretty green!

Great topic John!

We should also start trying push using green materials.

Why hasn't a basket manufacturer worked on aluminum baskets? You can get very durable, non rusting strong aluminum, that is green.

Also there is a lot of building materials for benches, signs etc that are 100% recycled.

Given the price that aluminum is fetching at recycling centers, aluminum baskets wouldn't be in a park for long. I'm also not sure how green aluminum is compared to steel.

As for benches, posts and the like, what is more green than wood?

Composites made of recycled plastics is much more green. Also aluminum recycled is one of the biggest green movements as of late. Obviously you know little about what is going on in the building industry currently, right now WOOD is the worse on the earth then any other building material.

Here's some great links to look at:
http://www.renewresources.com/index.shtml
http://plasticlumberyard.com/

Composites made of recycled plastics is much more green.


It's my understanding that these composites are also much more durable, and require less maintenance (e.g., staining, water treatment). The Marshall Street guys have started using these plastic composites on some of their more mushy fairways.

Our Ice Bowl every year raises money for the food bank and for the Parks & Rec department in charge of our courses. I think we give 80% to food banks and 20% to P&R. They then decide that they like us and will spend more money on helping to improve the courses, etc.

I've often wondered about disc recycling as well. Anyone with a materials background have an idea if they could be melted, remixed and reused?

Composites made of recycled plastics is much more green. Also aluminum recycled is one of the biggest green movements as of late. Obviously you know little about what is going on in the building industry currently, right now WOOD is the worse on the earth then any other building material.

Here's some great links to look at:
http://www.renewresources.com/index.shtml
http://plasticlumberyard.com/




Be careful making statements concerning what others know, especially if you don't know the 'others'.

Aluminum is only 'green' if it is used for a item that is meant to be thrown away. A beverage can for example. The big advantage of aluminum is it can be recycled. Do you really see the need for recycling a permanent fixture like a disc golf basket? Unless, of course, you are stealing it and looking to make a quick buck?

Wood is a renewable resource that also decomposes on its own. No landifilling is required if the item needs to be disposed. The big drive behind the composites is that they have all this plastic 'stuff' (bottles and the like) that has to go somewhere or it will be thrown out. Break a board on a wood bench, and you can throw it in the woods just like a downed branch. Break a composite board, and you have to throw it in a dumpster or a recycle bin. Composite wood does have durability as a selling point, but its not green beyond helping find a home for all the trash plastic we shouldn't be producing in the first place. Its also a great marketing ploy.

Wood, unless you are talking about exotic rainforest types, is planted, harvested and planted again. Your basic pine boards are a renewable crop. It decomposes on its own, and a bunch of energy (yes, your 'green' composite boards end up causing pollution due to all the energy consumed during gathering, cleaning and then reproducing those plastic bottles and the like into those 'green' boards) isn't required when its function is done.

Any time you hear someone touting a material that doesn't decompose and comes from a non-renewable resource (oil based) such a plastic, be skeptical of 'green' claims. Pass on the Kool-Aid.

A couple of interesting links on water bottles:

(a) Message In A Bottle (http://www.slate.com/id/2172541/), subtitled: "Reusable Water Bottles You'll Actually Want To Use"; and

(b) Hard To Swallow (http://www.slate.com/id/2172720/pagenum/1): That author answers some readers' questions</a>.

I'm going to experiment Sunday at the Ann Arbor club's "Birthday Classic" tournament by setting up a station to collect throw-away plastic water bottles, which I will recycle with my family's regular recycling.

Prehaps you also don't understand what green building is either. Wood is becoming one of our resources that the building community is looking at as being a problematic resource due to the fact we use more wood then we can grow. Lumber is not a easily regrown resource for building. Look at the standards for LEED construction and where they are lading. Green doesn't just encompas decomposition, but has a huge weight added on it buy reusing, recycling and managing waste. By recycling plastics into wood type building products, rubber tires into rubber throw pads etc, we are helping to not make new junk in the future. Aluminum cans is a very small amount of the recycled aluminum, you are looking at only the consumer side. Go to your local recycling yard and look at what is actualy dropped off. If you have a real recycling location for industry and builders/recyclers yu will be astonished by what is brought in. Bringing in 1 houses worth of old aluminum siding when you reinstall vynil is more then most small cities recycl in cans alone in a week.

Prehaps you also don't understand what green building is either. Wood is becoming one of our resources that the building community is looking at as being a problematic resource due to the fact we use more wood then we can grow. Lumber is not a easily regrown resource for building. Look at the standards for LEED construction and where they are lading. Green doesn't just encompas decomposition, but has a huge weight added on it buy reusing, recycling and managing waste. By recycling plastics into wood type building products, rubber tires into rubber throw pads etc, we are helping to not make new junk in the future. Aluminum cans is a very small amount of the recycled aluminum, you are looking at only the consumer side. Go to your local recycling yard and look at what is actualy dropped off. If you have a real recycling location for industry and builders/recyclers yu will be astonished by what is brought in. Bringing in 1 houses worth of old aluminum siding when you reinstall vynil is more then most small cities recycl in cans alone in a week.



In regards to compsite wood, we are helping get rid of junk, and perhaps encouraging poor product decisions. Milk used to come in cardboard containers, eggs in recycled paper product containers. Plastic is a problem, and encouraging its use is not green.

Concerning aluminum, you hit it on the head. Recycling centers. But you don't need to recycle a disc golf basket on a regular basis, and steel is also going to these recycling centers. The only green benefit an aluminum basket will be the 'green' that a thief receives when they 'recycle' it.

Concerning siding, its too bad that most of the vinyl that is being put up will never be recycled and will head to a landfill when it has aged and needs to be replaced. Perhaps we should be sticking with aluminum.

You act like plastic is the end of the world. While it is not the most beneficial item to the enviroment or the world, it's not going to go away anytime. If you want to go truely green then we would have to get rid of anything not handpowered, and everything not grown, heck computers, cars, almost everything is very non green.

I guess I just don't see why someone would steal a aluminum golf basket for the cost to recylce it and gain a few dollars, maybe in my area I just have a little more faith in people.

Understanding the true environmental cost of a product, including the costs of obtaining or creating the materials it is made out of, their toxicity, the toxicity of processing byproducts (think gold mining), transporting them, the water or electricity or whatever to manufacture them, then the transport of the product itself, the loss or re-use of the materials it is made out of, throughout the product life cycle . . . is not easy, nor is it simple.

Big strides are being made nowadays in understanding this stuff, and as so often happens with scientific discoveries, sometimes things we used to take for truth turn out not to be.

Part of what is driving the green movement, or sustainability movement, is the inevitable consequence of learning more about the world we live in. Talk to a knowledgeable architect about "green buildings" and you'll see. Among themselves, they don't even like to use the term, it's being replaced by "high performance" buildings, because, as they'll say, "Why the heck would you build a building that uses 6x as much energy as it needs to."

Wood is planted, harvested and planted again. Your basic pine boards are a renewable crop. It decomposes on its own, and a bunch of energy (yes, your 'green' composite boards end up causing pollution due to all the energy consumed during gathering, cleaning and then reproducing those plastic bottles and the like into those 'green' boards) isn't required when its function is done.




Yes, wood is a renewable crop if you have 15 - 30 years to grow it. And if you've ever driven down a country road in the South, you've undoubtedly driven passed a clearcut of forest. What follows is a spraying via helicopter of herbicide to kill any hardwoods left behind that would interfere with the next "crop" of pines. Maybe you like clearcutting of forests up in Wisconsin but I don't particularly care for them. Also, these "crops" of pine forests is what's known as "monoculture", or the growing of a single specific plant, in this case on a very large scale. Not particularly "green" in that it does not promote bio-diversity.

There is nothing wrong with using recycled plastics in products normally reserved for wood, like benches. I would not promote the creation of plastics for the sole purpose of making composites, just the use of recycled plastics. But anyway.....

It is not like we have an anti-green reputation hanging over our head.



No, we have the pro-green reputation over our head. :p

Yes, the wood is clear cut, but it is not much different than a corn field that is harvested (i.e. clear cut). Certain land areas are owned, planted and havested for the sake of lumber production. There isn't much biodiversity, but there isn't either in a field of peas, soybeans, lettuce, corn or whatever. Its a crop, and if it wasn't trees it would be a different money producing plant or process. Its not meant to be a diverse wildlife supporting forest per say, but does provide some of the benefits for awhile. In Wisconsin, we produce a lot of paper pulp in the same way. It may not be 'park like' pretty, but neither is the refinery in Gary, Indiana that is taking crude oil and making it into some of the chemicals that make that plastic bottle.

I'm not against using recycled plastic materials. But promoting the use of plastic as green, especially given the low percentage of plastic that actually gets recycled (19% of all plastic beverage containers according to web page (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5279230/)), is a bit naive in my book. On the positive side, at least the park bench use gets the plastic out of the system for a longer period of time.

As for aluminum baskets and not having faith in my fellow human beings, do a Google search on 'aluminum theft'. The whole country is having huge issues with this due to the increased price that aluminum (along with copper) is getting. Along these lines, people are stealing beer kegs due to the price that stainless steel is fetching. Beer Keg Thefts (http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=626536)

Oh, and sorry for derailing the discussion. I do agree that our sport has some great selling points in this area, especially when compared to ball golf.

Sorry, but I guess I'm going to derail it further. Consider the following on plastic recycling:

Plastic Myths (http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/new_articles.cfm?articleID=335&amp;journalID=57)
Recycling Plastics Complications (http://www.eurekarecycling.org/PDFS/Recycling_Plastic_Complications.pdf)

I didn't realize that those plastic boards and all the other great 'green' plastic uses weren't able themselves to be recycled.

Of course, there are plenty of web pages devoted to all the good plastic recycling does. It's a controversial subject to say the least, with all sorts of vested interests mingled in.

I want to see plastic benches made from old discs, like really big chunks of discs in which, while your waiting to tee off at a tournament, you can sit there and search for different hunks of discs to try to identify them. :D

We collected a nice big bag of plastic and glass bottles from the players at the Birthday Classic, Sunday at Hudson Mills. It's nice to see that headed for the recycle center instead of the landfill.

Sorry, but I guess I'm going to derail it further. Consider the following on plastic recycling:

Plastic Myths (http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/new_articles.cfm?articleID=335&amp;journalID=57)
Recycling Plastics Complications (http://www.eurekarecycling.org/PDFS/Recycling_Plastic_Complications.pdf)

I didn't realize that those plastic boards and all the other great 'green' plastic uses weren't able themselves to be recycled.

Of course, there are plenty of web pages devoted to all the good plastic recycling does. It's a controversial subject to say the least, with all sorts of vested interests mingled in.



I'm surprised they don't mention the food saved because of plastic's toughness or the fuel savings shipping a lighter product.

Energy savings was addressed in "Myth # 6, Using plastic containers conserves energy" in the first linked page. I also read somewhere that one of the most energy efficient containers was the returnable glass bottles that were the norm when I was a kid. Heavier to ship, but the processing (basically washing them out) required to use them again consumes no where near the energy that a recycling process takes.

Concerning durability, its tough to argue against the plastic containers.

I like the idea of a 'coarse grind' bench where you could see the pieces of the discs. Perhaps a novelty niche market exists for someone with the time and talent to figure out something along these lines.

I am disappointed I only stumbled on this thread today! What a great thread...I TOTALLY think piggy-backing on the up and coming green wave will be huge for disc golf. I think the PDGA water bottle idea is a great one.
Some very un-thought-out ideas:
-Not really a marketing strategy, but, as energy costs skyrocket I think a lot of small, regional ball golf courses will be financially strapped...try and get in with these courses and point out how disc golf is inexpensive to install and doesn't require the massive resource committment (water, etc).
-the "golf course community" idea...try and get some developers to place a disc golf course in and around "green" developments...a nice "amenity" that can be packaged as a green alternative. A developer would save tons of $ and land over installing a ball golf course, and would have an added marketing tool.
-I think a few top pros (who are passionate and knowledgeable about this issue) touring together in a biodiesel vehicle could get some seriously increased sponsorship and exposure for the sport. My girlfriend's younger brother just did the same thing with kayaking and was unbelievably successful at getting sponsors and media coverage (www.oilandwaterproject.org). They talked to local media, did presentations at schools, filmed a DVD, etc, about biodiesel. Disc golf would benefit greatly from the exposure and from the connection with the green movement, and I think it could draw in some yet-untapped sponsorship opportunities.
-What about a disc manufacturer doing a CFR program w/ proceeds going to environmentally-related causes? Or a limited run of fundraiser recycled discs?
-The PDGA could also suggest that all the ice bowls in a given year make a big effort to get associated with a green charity, and try to get some added publicity that way...
-There are all sorts of green fairs, conferences, etc., all over the country...PDGA could develop some literature about how DG ties into the green movement for the future and local clubs could try and set up informational booths at these sort of things.

Let's keep this dialogue going!

Great ideas Christian...here in CO we are always trying to stay with Green movement in terms of disc and progression of the sport. I will definitely present some of these ideas to clubs in the area

I think a few top pros (who are passionate and knowledgeable about this issue) touring together in a biodiesel vehicle could get some seriously increased sponsorship and exposure for the sport.



That's a pretty cool idea! Perhaps it could help in providing another funding source for groups of touring pros.

It was ironic to first find this thread today. I recently sent an e-mail to a local Forest Preserve District Board member in support of a possible disc golf course. One of the issues I raised was that disc golf was a "green" activity. Like Boy Scouts we pretty much leave our campsite the way we found it. Flying plastic and a herd of feet generally have a minor impact on the park.

I have always wondered about the fact that that beat up dx disc will still be on the planet long after all of us, and our grandkids, are gone. I think this is a worthwhile thread. As expected, (sigh) I have no answers. As a cyclist I always have reusable water bottles. However, they too are plastic. If I was truely green I would be using a metal bottle.

If I was truely green I would be using a metal bottle.



Green comes in many shades. A metal bottle won't get you there---there's always something even greener you can do, up to the point of stepping off the planet. I'm not sure any individual options offsets the environmental cost of transporting ourselves to tournaments. Although any step in the right direction, no matter how small, is at least in the right direction.

I'd think the greenest thing we do --- and should promote, per the original post --- is our land use. Disc golf courses tend to be better for the environment than ball golf courses, or almost any other uses that might be made of these urban and suburban parcels. "Green space" is a buzzword now, and our spaces are pretty green. We keep more trees and underbush, and use less chemicals, than ballgolf, ballfields, tennis courts, office parks, housing, etc.

I'd think the greenest thing we do --- and should promote, per the original post --- is our land use. Disc golf courses tend to be better for the environment than ball golf courses, or almost any other uses that might be made of these urban and suburban parcels. "Green space" is a buzzword now, and our spaces are pretty green. We keep more trees and underbush, and use less chemicals, than ballgolf, ballfields, tennis courts, office parks, housing, etc.


The definition of "green space" varies depending on where you are, but that's not the point of my reply...

Water runoff is a big problem with most of those land uses that you listed. A parking lot does not allow for water to penetrate and become ground water, and therefore any water that lands on the parking lot must runoff as surface water, at least to the edge of the parking lot. While ball golf courses do allow water to seep in and become groundwater, they ruin the natural terrain of the watershed and can create runoff and erosion problems just the same. In disc golf, we leave the terrain as it is (in most cases), and therefore the natural watershed is preserved. I've only heard of a few cases of disc golf courses having problems with runoff and erosion. These problems tend to occur in courses with "carved" fairways and heavily used foot paths down the fairways. Copper Mountain in Colorado had this problem and pulled the course for the summer to allow for a redesign to abate some of the accelerated erosion problems.

I need a new job. Maybe the PDGA can hire me to figure out ways that disc golf can be more "green." /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

A big new problem is the proliferation of empty plastic bottles of water and other purchased liquids. Manufacturers rarely design these to be recyclable, and the containers quickly fill available trashcans and litter many courses I have played.

Many players have bought into this stuff, and it is unlikely that they could be persuaded that plain water in reusable water bottles is fine. But at least we could request that TD's never supply beverages in this form at their events.



Bottled Water and Energy
A Fact Sheet

The growing consumption of bottled water raises questions about the product�s economic and environmental costs. Among the most significant concerns are the resources required to produce the plastic bottles and to deliver filled bottles to consumers, including both energy and water.

The Pacific Institute estimates that in 2006:

Producing the bottles for American consumption required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, not including the energy for transportation
Bottling water produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide
It took 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water
Total U.S. Consumption of Bottled Water in 2006

According to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, Americans bought a total of 31.2 billion liters of water in 2006, sold in bottles ranging from the 8-ounce aquapods popular in school lunches to the multi-gallon bottles found in family refrigerators and office water coolers. Most of this water was sold in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, requiring nearly 900,000 tons of the plastic. PET is produced from fossil fuels � typically natural gas and petroleum.

Energy Required to Make PET Plastic

According to the plastics manufacturing industry, it takes around 3.4 megajoules of energy to make a typical one-liter plastic bottle, cap, and packaging. Making enough plastic to bottle 31.2 billion liters of water required more than 106 billion megajoules of energy. Because a barrel of oil contains around 6 thousand megajoules, the Pacific Institute estimates that more the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil were needed to produce these plastic bottles.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Consumption of Bottled Water

The manufacture of every ton of PET produces around 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Bottling water thus created more than 2.5 million tons of CO2 in 2006.

Water Required to Make Bottled Water

In addition to the water sold in plastic bottles, the Pacific Institute estimates that twice as much water is used in the production process. Thus, every liter sold represents three liters of water.

Transporting and Recycling Bottled Water

More energy is needed to fill the bottles with water at the factory, move it by truck, train, ship, or air freight to the user, cool it in grocery stores or home refrigerators, and recover, recycle, or throw away the empty bottles. The Pacific Institute estimates that the total amount of energy required for every bottle is equivalent, on average, to filling a plastic bottle one quarter full with oil.

Sources:

Beverage Marketing Corporation estimate for 2006.

Plastics Europe. http://lca.plasticseurope.org/petb5.htm

I. Bousted. 2005. Eco-profiles of the European Plastics Industry: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), (Bottle grade).

Thanks John:

Bottled water is evil. Buy a filter attachment for your tap or use a filter pitcher. Keep a few containers to fill and put in the freezer and rotate through to keep yourself supplied. Carry the empty container back home with you to RE-USE.

RECYCLING IS NOT FREE! There's absolutely no reason to through away a perfectly good plastic container, whether it be in the trash or in the recycling bin. They're both bad.

Not to mention the energy used in the processing and transportation of the "product".

RECYCLING IS NOT FREE! There's absolutely no reason to through away a perfectly good plastic container, whether it be in the trash or in the recycling bin. They're both bad.


That's why I burn them.....that way there is no waste! :D

RECYCLING IS NOT FREE! There's absolutely no reason to through away a perfectly good plastic container, whether it be in the trash or in the recycling bin. They're both bad.


That's why I burn them.....that way there is no waste! :D


As long as you're directly inhaling the plastic vapors to maintain your buzz I see nothing wrong with that.

on a happier note our new magazine is a green publication!

i believe that the pdga should, by rule, require the marking of lies with sticks, twigs, stones, leaves or even clumps of grass. the energy to create minis is an unnecessary burden on the ecosystem. maybe the pdga can even take it a step further and institute an "imaginary honor mini marker" policy, self enforced like ultimate. outlaw minis, save the planet. it's a small, simple step.

r u serious?

Great idea there MD935, but you don�t go far enough. Let�s just do away with plastic altogether and play with imaginary discs. People already calculate their scores that way: �I would have shot a 63 if not for that double bogey on 4 and that triple on 7 and that missed ten footer on 9 . . . � We could just visualize how we would like to play each hole and record that score. It wouldn�t be long before you would be known as MD1080.

Does anybody know if there still a hole in the ozone layer?