5 Tips For Golf Course Recycling Programs
Almost every golfer would agree that there’s nothing better than playing a great round on a pristine, well-maintained golf course. Golf facilities spend a lot of time and effort maintaining the beauty and condition of their courses. An effective golf course recycling program can help minimize waste, simplify maintenance and support long-term sustainability. Plus, a good-looking course that plays well will keep bringing those golfers back for more!
Here are 5 tips to help you make the most of your golf course recycling program.
1. Score With The Right Recycling Bins
Just like you would never use the same golf club to play every shot, you don’t want to use the same-sized bins throughout your entire golf facility. Different areas will require different-sized bins.
Conduct a waste audit to determine how much waste is collected in the various areas of your golf course on a typical day. Be sure to audit both your indoor and outdoor bins. The results of your waste audit will give you a good idea of what capacity waste and recycling containers you’ll need.
Make sure you know what recycling streams your waste hauler can collect and how they have to be handled. For example, can you collect your recyclables together (commingled or single stream) or do you need to separate out cans and bottles from paper?
One common item that is collected at golf courses/clubs are the little golf pencils and towels. CleanRiver has some handy bin sizes with special opening shapes that are perfect for gathering up discarded pencils and locker room towels.
Bonus Tip: Make your golf course recycling program even more successful by choosing bins that keep all the waste streams together. When there is no recycling or compost bin directly next to the garbage, people just toss all their waste into whatever bin is closest. Your recycling and waste streams get contaminated and end up in landfill, and there go your sustainability goals.
2. Point Golfers In The Right Direction With High Impact Backboard Graphics
When your golfers are out on the course they’re thinking about their next shot and not where to toss their garbage or recyclables. Help people make quick decisions about what goes where so they can stay focused on what really matters … staying out of the rough and hitting the green!
Use simple, high-impact images on your bin backboards of products that people typically use at your golf course. Make sure your recycling labels are colourful, clear, and at eye level.
Get your graphics right with our 3 Tips For Ordering The Most Effective Recycling Labels For Your Program.. Place Recycling Bins In High Traffic Areas
3. Place Recycling Bins In High Traffic Areas
Be sure to place your bins in high traffic areas of the golf course so they can be easily spotted, such as at clubhouse entrances, in common areas, on the patio, at the bag drop, starter’s hut, and the halfway house to name a few.
Easy and frequent access to bins increases the chances that your patrons will be as good about putting their litter in the right place as they are about making their shots (in other words, at least they’ll try!)
Bonus tip: Coordinate recycling bin opening colors with posters or labels to help people make the right choice. Use color-coding for different streams, e.g. blue for recycling, black for landfill, green for organics.
4. Don’t Have Fair-Weather Bins
Heavy rain and lightning may keep people off your course, but your bins aren’t going anywhere. They need to be durable, weather-proof and rust-proof to hack all kinds of weather. Bin accessories like anchor kits are a good idea to ensure your containers don’t get blown away on windy days.
When it comes to the outdoor bins, CleanRiver has found that you just can’t beat HDPE. Our outdoor recycling bins are manufactured out of 97% recycled HDPE material which doesn’t rot, is impervious to insects, is UV stable, weather resistant and waterproof. Another bonus, CleanRiver also accepts recycled HDPE bins at the end of life to be recycled into other consumer items and HDPE lumber.
Find out what you need to know to order the best recycling bins for your golf facility: Top Tips To Buy The Best Outdoor Recycling Bins For your Program.
5. Set Up Your Team For Success
Golfers like to brag about their low scores. Well, do some bragging of your own about your commitment to sustainability and creating low levels of waste. Encourage participation in your recycling programs by creating awareness around the club on internal and external communications, such as on posters, bulletin boards, member newsletters, and in emails. Set recycling goals and communicate your goals to staff and vendors.
Also, try working with your supply chain to try and get more control over what is being brought into your facility. Think about what products you could switch to that would be biodegradable or organic.
For more information on successful recycling programs, check out our blogs The 6 Things Your Recycling Program Is Probably Missing and 4 Tips To Launch A Successful Recycling Program At Your Facility.
CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible and customizable recycling solutions. To determine the right solution to meet your needs, use the CleanRiver product selector.
If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at 1-866-479-4038 or email solutions@cleanriver.com.
