What have you accomplished since you launched your organization—and what have been your favorite initiatives?
Our Batting Cleanup initiative in the Dominican Republic is undoubtedly important work and one of the most significant issues we face right now. We have conducted over 30 cleanups, ranging from MLB academies in the Dominican Republic, youth baseball teams that have organized their own cleanups with their team, to collaborations with National Women's Soccer League players and local youth programs here in Los Angeles. These cleanups ultimately have resulted in cleaning up nearly 100,000 pounds of marine debris and plastic waste.
Expanding on the success of the in-person cleanups, we started integrating in-person workshops in collaboration with MLB academy education coordinators. These hour-long workshops led by conservation professionals give a more in-depth look at the problem behind the plastic crisis being experienced on island nations.
Our E-Waste events throughout the league have been some of the coolest events. The gravity of the E-Waste problem is not widely known. Millions of tons of E-Waste [unwanted or broken electronic products such as computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, etc] are generated every year, often finding their way to foreign countries to be burned or thrown in a landfill.
E-waste can be toxic, not biodegradable, and accumulates in the environment -- soil, air, water, and living things. For example, open-air burning and acid baths used to recover valuable materials from electronic components release toxic materials leaching into the environment. These practices can also expose workers to high levels of contaminants such as lead, mercury, beryllium, thallium, cadmium, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polychlorinated biphenyls, which can lead to irreversible health effects, including cancers, miscarriages, neurological damage, and diminished IQs.
Through our 12 events with various teams around the league, we have diverted 1.5 million pounds of E-Waste from landfills. They are among my favorite events because I always enjoyed looking at all the old electronics like record players, early 2000s cell phones, and other items that people have lying around in basements and attics for decades. In this technology-driven age, I think E-Waste events are crucial to education and providing access to dispose of unwanted devices properly.
Our partnership with global reforestation organization One Tree Planted has seen athletes contribute more than 200,000 trees through the Play for Trees campaign. This campaign allows athletes and fans to plant trees based on on-field performances by the players. I.E. plant 100 trees with every strikeout recorded during the season.
While large-scale reforestation is vitally important, our athletes have chosen to impact locally in their team markets by bringing more education and awareness towards Environmental Justice and the disproportionate area of urban tree cover, lack of access to fresh produce, and green spaces.
We have also hosted a series of waste sorting and composting workshops with MLB teams, which give young kids a new look at how to prevent food waste and the composting process used in community gardens, thus providing nutritious food for underserved communities.
Lastly, our Strike Out Waste campaign is being championed by Colorado Rockies pitcher Brent Suter. This initiative aims to eliminate single-use plastic in the clubhouses and locker rooms through the use of reusable water bottles. Over 1,800 bottles have been distributed to professionals and youth at hotels around the country as more teams and players understand the impact of plastic waste on their personal health and the local ecosystems.
