The Military Bowl Foundation today announced that the 2022 Military Bowl presented by Peraton will recycle or compost all waste produced at the pregame Military Bowl Official Tailgate as well as in all hospitality areas at the Bowl.
This year’s game matches Duke and UCF on Wednesday, December 28, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at militarybowl.org/tickets. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN.
With the goal of creating an eco-friendly event, the Bowl is working with local nonprofit Annapolis Green to recycle all plastic and aluminum products in these areas; all other products purchased for use in these areas will be certified compostable and will be collected separately by Veteran Compost, a DC-area company founded by U.S. Army veteran Justen Garrity.
“The Military Bowl is about honoring and supporting the nation’s service members, but we also want to do our part to help preserve the planet for future generations,” Military Bowl President & Executive Director Steve Beck said. “We are excited to benefit from the expertise of Annapolis Green and others and look forward to a great event that minimizes its footprint.”
Veteran Compost employs a proprietary technique and natural decomposition to process these items, plus all food waste, into a soil amendment that will benefit local farms and gardens. Bowl partners Katcef Brothers Inc. and Mission BBQ, caterers Bo Brooks and Main & Market, as well as stadium vendors also are participating in the effort.
“When Annapolis Green started its Responsible Events & Festivals program, our tagline was Make the Right Call, a nod to the many sporting-related events we engaged with,” Annapolis Green co-founder Lynne Forsman said. “We became known as the Green REF! It only seems appropriate that we are now teaming up with the Military Bowl to help produce an environmentally-friendly event in our backyard at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium!”
Additionally, the Military Bowl is participating in Bowl Season’s sustainability efforts to recycle bottles and turn them into merchandise.
Bowl Season has signed a three-year partnership with UNIFI, the makers of REPREVE®, the global leader in recycled performance fibers. Leveraging its proprietary regeneration technology, REPREVE® has transformed more than 35 billion plastic bottles into recycled fiber that is trusted by leading brands to develop sustainable products worldwide.
This year’s athlete’s Bowl Bound shirts, provided by Vapor Elemental wear, were made from 16 recycled plastic bottles each.
As part of the collaboration, Bowl Season and UNIFI host a Sustainability committee made up of six key Bowl Games, including the Military Bowl. Additionally, The Military Bowl has worked with UNIFI to have bottles collected from the game. These bottles will be transformed into REPREVE which will be used to make Military Bowl fan gear, volunteer gear and staff apparel.
Proceeds from the Bowl benefit the USO and Patriot Point, the Military Bowl Foundation’s retreat for wounded, ill and injured service members, their families and caregivers.
