Minnesota Twins bat for environment, go green - MLB News
Minnesota Twins are showing other Major League clubs how things should be done. The club understands its responsibility to the environment and the society and is taking steps in the right direction in fulfilling it.
Target Field was inaugurated in 2010 and efforts to keep it green and environmentally friendly have been underway ever since.
The Twins have the distinction of being the first sports franchise to attain Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for the operations and maintenance of the ballpark in 2010. It was also named as the Greenest Ballpark in
America as recognition of the efforts put into Target Field.
The organisation is quite clear that it wants to pitch in for a better environment. "The Minnesota Twins organisation believes our future success -- both on and off the field -- is built on a business model that embraces operational efficiency, environmental
stewardship and social responsibility," Twins’ president Dave St. Peter said.
Twins reuse the rain water as one of the many steps they take to help the environment. They have a water recycle system that was custom built for the stadium by the Minneapolis based Pentair. 1.84 million gallons of water in 2011 and 2012 was captured, purified
and used in Target Field, mainly in washing down the seating areas of the ballpark. This greatly reduced the use of municipal water.
Twins are also partnering with the Minnesota State Parks and Trails in an effort to make the area greener. Every time a Twins’ pitcher breaks a bat of the opposing team, 100 trees are planted in one of 21 Minnesota state trails or one of 73 Minnesota state
parks. The project has been quite successful as in 2012 the Twins’ pitchers broke 170 bats, two more then 2011. Thus, 17000 trees will be planted in various locations now in Spring as a part of the program.
Dave St. Peter was upbeat and enthusiastic about the programs and reiterated that the efforts will continue in the future as well. “As we move forward, the Twins are committed to maintaining our focus on environmental sustainability," He said. "While we
can always improve, we're proud of our efforts in 2012 and are looking forward to doing even more in 2013."
The Twins are also recycling the trash from the ballpark and helping to keep it out of landfills. They have so far recycled 2559 tons of waste, composting over 250 tons organic wastes and recycling over 950 tons of trash from the ballpark. Over 1300 tons
have been handed over to the Hennepin Energy Recovery Centre.
The club is also donating unused food through their partnership with Rock and Wrap It Up! Inc. They have so far given more than 55000 hotdogs, 3500 chicken b*****s and 8000 hamburgers to local charities.
It is certainly encouraging to see the efforts by the Minnesota Twins to help society in different and positive ways. It is certainly a model that other sports franchises can adopt and help in securing the future of coming generations.
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