The Seattle Mariners and Safeco Field hospitality partner Centerplate are joining numerous restaurants and attractions, the Seahawks and Sounders in the "Strawless September" initiative designed to keep plastic out of the oceans.
Beginning with the Mariners vs. A's game on Friday, September 1, drinks at Safeco Field will not be automatically served with straws. Guests will be able to request an Aardvark paper straw. Although the plant-based straws used at Safeco Field for the past several years are compostable and not plastic, paper straws, which are also compostable, are considered to be an even more sustainable alternative.
"Strawless September" is part of a campaign by the Lonely Whale Foundation to keep plastic out of the oceans. Foundation co-founder Adrian Grenier, environmentalist and actor best known for his role as Vincent Chase on the series Entourage, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Mariners game on September 1, to officially launch the campaign in Seattle.
Others in the Seattle area participating in Strawless September include Ethan Stowell Restaurants, the Space Needle, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Aquarium, Starbucks, Sounders and Seahawks.
Safeco Field is one of the most sustainably operated sports facilities in the nation. Nearly 90% of all waste that is generated at games is recycled or composted, diverting millions of pounds of refuse from landfills each year.
Through the broader Strawless Ocean campaign, Lonely Whale Foundation aims to reduce the use of plastic straws nationwide and keep some 500 million plastic straws out of the ocean in 2017 alone. Without such action, the Foundation estimates that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.