Think before you pitch

Recycling is the action or process of converting waste into reusable material. Golf courses are filled with recyclable materials, used by employees and golfers. Recycling systems can be complicated, making them intimidating for staff. But as superintendents, leaving the ground you work on better than you inherited remains part of the job. 

The intersection between golf and environmentalism is huge. Notably, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, hosted at TPC Scottsdale every February, has been recognized as the largest zero-waste event in the world. Booze containers, drink cups and food wrappers, along with everything else consumed on site, is diverted from landfill, prioritizing recycling and decreasing its footprint.

On the micro level, superintendents and their teams can play a big role in determining how to leave the course a better place. After speaking with sustainability savants, here are some large- and small-scale ways to begin reducing, reusing and recycling at your facilities. 

If you want to put a true recycling program in place, Southworth director of sustainability Eleanor Brown suggests the first step you must take is to understand every part of recycling on your course. Learn which types of services are in your area, which aspects the course operations team already handles, and what responsibilities will be added. Programs and recyclable items vary by state, so it’s important to research. 

Pending on location, some heavy metal and used equipment can be recycled. Ditto for plant protectant and other product containers. “There’s a lot of resources online to be able to look up if your county or city area has different types of recycling,” Brown says.

When Southworth-operated Creighton Farms in northern Virginia decided to start a recycling program, it was discovered that the county’s waste services provided recycling procedures but didn’t handle material pickup. The course had to designate someone to deliver the recyclables to a local facility. 

Properly disposing of chemicals and hazardous materials is also essential and even included in the GCSAA’s Best Management Practices: “Be sure to familiarize yourself with all state and local laws related to disposal/recycling of these waste materials.”

Recycling is a time and labor commitment, and as Audubon International director of Signature Sanctuary Certification Ken Benoit says, “Handling the recycling of the waste that comes off a golf course is a pretty big job. It’s just a matter of making the commitment to actually do the work.”

The next step to take is communication with stakeholders. 

“Check in with management,” Brown says. “Let them know what you’re thinking about doing, get their concerns and questions, and also the heads of departments that it’s going to be touching.”

Brown says finding a strong advocate on staff is important — whether that’s the superintendent, a board member or even a chef.

According to a recent Golf Course Industry survey, the biggest challenge superintendents face with recycling programs is a lack of participation and engagement from customers. Forty-seven percent of respondents noted this as an issue. Use your voice, fliers and board meetings to advocate for recycling and its importance.

“If you don’t have somebody who’s really excited about it already, then you really need to explain to people,” Brown says. “You need to inspire people on why this is exciting and worth the extra effort.”

After speaking with the necessary people and receiving approval, the next step is to decide on your program and which companies you will be working with, if any. Consult with nearby facilities, research and reach out to experts. 

Once a recycling program is set, the final step involves following up. Check in with your staff. See what’s working and what’s not. Challenges might arise, but, Brown says, “don’t accept no or what feels like a no. Just pivot.”

Local and national programs exist to get your recycling programs started. Every Can Counts U.S., a nonprofit organization funded through members of the Can Manufacturers Institute, focuses on encouraging aluminum can recycling at concerts, festivals and other events. The program began with implementing a Mardi Gras recycling plan in New Orleans. The chapter officially launched in 2024. That first year, alongside other recycling programs, approximately 145,408 cans were collected and recycled during Mardi Gras celebrations.

“We’ve been at Mardi Gras for the last three years, and we helped the city design a recycling program along the parade routes, recognizing there are so many people who are using aluminum beverage cans away from home, but they didn’t necessarily have a place to recycle them,” says Tim Ebner, CMI’s vice president of marketing and communications. 

The organization has 21 chapters worldwide. In the United States, the nonprofit is focusing on sporting events and venues, which naturally led them to the golf industry. East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., has started their pilot program for recycling infrastructure on golf courses. 

“We looked at this as a great opportunity to step in and say, ‘Hey, let’s help some public golf courses around the country get access to some infrastructure that can not only make recycling accessible, but also really fun and eye-catching’,” Ebner says. 

East Potomac Golf Links is a public facility located in downtown D.C. with views of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. Until late last year, East Potomac was one of three public courses run by the nonprofit National Links Trust. The course was chosen as the pilot program because it is the busiest of the three. The course already had a recycling system in place, but Every Can Counts came in to provide an aluminum can-only system. Two cages shaped in the letters D and C were placed on the property. The cages hold up to 1,500 cans combined.

“When this project’s over in a year, if Every Can Counts wants to do this somewhere else in the city, it’s something that can seamlessly move,” says AndrewSzunyog, who handles sustainability efforts for National Links Trust. “We don’t want to make something that’s only going to be used for a year, and then it just goes somewhere and sits. We want to think through how long these things can last.”

“It’s really so that folks not only notice the recycling bins, but they also notice this artwork, and they feel compelled or just excited to recycle their beverage can,” Ebner adds.

In collaboration, all cans collected at the course can be delivered to a local scrap yard, Potomac Metals, in exchange for money. The money raised from the aluminum cans is then put back into the course and its sustainability efforts. 

If your course is interested in partnering with a local or national organization to get recycling efforts moving, Every Can Counts is a possible route. “We really want public golf courses or private golf courses around the country to reach out to us and let us know if they need help with recycling,” Ebner says.

Szunyog worked collaboratively with Every Can Counts. Having a partnership, a mentor or a group of people you can discuss sustainability efforts with is essential for success.

“I think having good partners that are operationally aligned and also adaptive and creative are really the key elements,” Ebner says. “We really use Andrew’s team as a sounding board to say, ‘What would work well within your team?’ and ‘What kind of facility infrastructure do you need?’”

Even if implementinga full recycling system on property isn’t currently possible, there are plenty of small, practical things you can do to get started.

Reduce …

One extremely effective way to reduce is to steer away from single-use products and order in bulk so less packaging is used. Things such as coffee grounds and tea bags can be composted, and food waste can be as well.

Minimizing single-use plastic water bottles is also a possible route.

“Unfortunately, as a society, we still use a ton of water bottles,” says Benoit, a 25-year superintendent. Americans churn through more than 50 billion single-use plastic water bottles each year. While they are recyclable, they cost money and don’t help minimize plastic use. Offering the crew a refillable water bottle and placing water refill stations throughout the course is one way to help. 

Reuse …

Reusing material is a win for everybody. It’s better for the environment and it allows for less spending in the long run.

When a piece of equipment goes bad, don’t just trash it. Work with equipment managers to see if it can be fixed. If it can’t, work with a local recycling company to determine which parts can be reused.

Wood from old buildings or no-longer-in-use infrastructure can be repurposed. When Manistee National Golf Club in northern Michigan started construction of a par-3 course, telephone poles were used to build a bridge. Signage was built from planks from a retired boat dock. The pump-house was built out of reclaimed lumber from a barn. Be creative.

Recycle …

If you want to start small, start with the grass itself. According to the Northern Ohio GCSA, experts estimate grass clippings and yard waste make up nearly 20 percent of landfill waste. According to another GCSAA study, recycling clippings helps with soil health and can reduce fertilizer usage. After mowing, spread clippings in the rough or in native areas. 

“Some consider it the single largest potential point source of pollution on a course,” Benoit says. “Implementing a closed-loop wash system is the most effective defense against this type of contamination.”

Mickelson National Golf Club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, worked with a local welding shop to build its own grass clipping separator. The machine sits at the wash bay. Clippings go from the wash bay into the separator. From there, the machine has four stages: Water pumps the clippings into the machine, which then uses a screen to separate out the grass. The second stage filters out larger material, followed by the third stage that pulls out smaller material. The fourth stage files out fine materials, and then clippings are added to the compost pile.

“It’s a simple, functional system that is very manageable and very effective,” master golf course superintendent Robin Sadler says. “There’s numerous golf courses around our area that have reached out and are kind of looking at what we’ve designed here and doing similar things because it’s functional, it’s cost effective and it also is maintenance friendly.”

Work with local companies to recycle batteries, tires and metal scraps from equipment. The GCSAA’s BMP study also revealed golf courses are already doing well with that. Keep it up!

A few stats from the research:

• 93 percent of courses reuse or recycle equipment or golf cart batteries
• 89 percent reuse/recycle hydraulic fluids
• 79 percent reuse/recycle pallets
• 77 percent reuse/recycle tires
• 76 percent reuse/recycle aluminum

Cardboard boxes from shipments should be recycled, as should any plastic waste used in the maintenance facility like plates, cutlery and those ever-present water bottles. Place bins in convenient, high-traffic areas to encourage participation from your team.

Some courses prefer not to keep separate recycling bins out on the course — and rather separate out recyclables from trash. In the long run, this provides more work. If it’s possible, provide both trash cans and recycling bins in high-traffic areas and throughout the property. 

A small upfront time commitment can make a significant difference in achieving a higher purpose.

“It’s important for our industry to embrace the environmental movement and do everything that we can,” Benoit says. “It’s really not that complicated or involved, to be honest with you. It’s just a matter of making the commitment to actually do the work.” 

Kelsie Horner is Golf Course Industry’s digital editor and author of the monthly “Conservation Mindset” column. Contact her at khorner@gie.net with your recycling success story.