SC Johnson and the Milwaukee Brewers Team Up to Take on Plastic Waste

We all need to work together to help close the plastic recycling loop, and I hope this first-of-its-kind initiative with the Brewers will serve as a model for other major league teams, companies and even other sports leagues.
Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson
    In 2020, SC Johnson and the Milwaukee Brewers announced a first-of-its kind partnership to provide a local solution toward the global crisis of plastic waste through creating a new market and new recycling model for one of the biggest sources of waste at their ballpark – the more than 1 million plastic cups used each season. Plastic cups used at the ballpark are collected in specially marked receptacles and are upcycled into packaging for SC Johnson’s Scrubbing Bubbles® product. Here’s what makes this partnership a game changer:

    • It supports a clean recycling stream. Only about 14% of plastic containers and packaging in the U.S. are recycled. By collecting drink cups in specially designed receptacles throughout the ballpark, SC Johnson and the Brewers are ensuring that more of the plastic can be recycled.
    • It continues SC Johnson’s progress fighting plastic pollution with local solutions. Inside our own walls, we’re working hard on efforts like tripling the amount of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic content in our product packaging. Outside, partnerships like our work with Plastic Bank help encourage recycling and promote sustainable packaging.

    In April 2022, the Milwaukee Brewers announced the formation of the Brewers Sustainability Council, an effort by Brewers pitcher Brent Suter and founding partner SC Johnson to create an advisory board to review, discuss and implement best sustainability practices at American Family Field.

    “As a founding partner, SC Johnson will work to ensure sustainable practices are understandable and accessible to the more than 2.5 million people who attend Brewers games each season,” said Alan VanderMolen, SVP, Global Community Affairs at SC Johnson. “One way we are doing that is through our closed-loop cup recycling program, and we look forward to coming up with more innovative programs with Brent Suter, the Brewers and other members of the council.”

    This builds on the Brewers and SC Johnson’s long-term partnership to build awareness and educate fans about the importance of sustainability efforts in everyday aspects of life. The pair has recently collaborated with Earth Echo International to create the “Waste Free Crew,” an educational initiative that provides educators in the Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee areas with instructive modules for fourth, fifth and sixth graders to learn and discuss environmentally friendly practices.

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