We all know how plastic pollution is affecting our lands, waterways, and oceans. According to a study by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, global production of plastic has increased from 2 million metric tons in 1950 to 380 million metric tons in 2015.
If this current trend continues, by 2050 we will have produced 34 billion tons of plastic, which is about 100 times greater than the weight of all the humans on the planet.
Adidas, The sportswear firm is one of the leaders in finding new, commercially viable uses for plastic waste. Adidas has created a sustainable football field by using 1.8 million recycled plastic bottles. This sustainable field is made for the students of Miami Edison High School, in Florida.
Traditionally this field requires a large amount of virgin plastics and reground rubber. However the sustainable field built by the company is made from plastic bottles sourced from remote islands, beaches, coastal communities and shorelines, with the goal of preventing it from polluting the ocean.
For building this sustainable field, plastic was first washed, treated and then it was transformed into infill. Infill used in the field, looks like little pellets and are crucial for the turf. It also provides the cushioning on the ground. it even makes the field safer for the players when they fall, dive, or slide.
Cameron Collins, the North America director of football at Adidas, said, “We believe that through sport we have the power to change lives, and this field is a demonstration of our taking action on that belief,”
“More than a place for these young athletes to play, it’s a reminder of our collective responsibility to end plastic waste,”
