In A League Of Their Own - Brief Article

IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

From the Super Bowl to concerts to monster-truck rallies, members of the Florida Chapter's Tampa Bay Group are at every event at Raymond James Stadium, Collecting bottles and cans. About eight years ago, Club members started noticing how much glass and aluminum tailgaters were tossing out with their trash. Club volunteers began showing up with plastic bags to gather recyclables, so the Tampa Stadium Authority appointed them official recyclers. The Sierrans have become such a fixture, "fans now know us. They'll bring us big bags of bottles across the parking lot," says Sharon Segal-Elazar, who coordinates the program. In return for their efforts, the stadium makes a substantial donation to the Group, providing half its yearly funding. If that weren't motivation enough, volunteers get free admission--even to the Super Bowl.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't make it to Super Bowl XXXV, but since it was held at their stadium, the Group worked at the big game. "The mix of the NFL and the environment may seem incongruous," says member Philip Compton, "but that's the cool thing about it." The 15 volunteers covered the concourse and the luxury boxes. "It was a demonstration project," Compton says. "We wanted to show how easy recycling is. If you can do it at the big, crazy Super Bowl, it can be done anywhere and everywhere."

Segal-Elazar and Compton say they're the only Sierra Club group in an NFL city that recycles at stadiums. The program has so many benefits, they'd love to see it replicated by other chapters and groups. And the best part, both say, is "it's a lot of fun."

For ideas on how to start a recycling effort at your local stadium, call the Florida Chapter at (727) 824-8813.

* To spotlight Sierra Club activism in your area, contact Elisa Freeling at Sierra, 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441; e-mail elisa.freeling@ sierraclub.org; fax (415) 977-5794.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Sierra Magazine
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group