Following up on yesterday’s environmental impact of youth soccer post, I wanted to mention an interesting product that can help with recycling. Many leagues don’t like to deal with recycling because they have to transfer all of the recyclables from bins to trash bags, then transport them, etc.

Cleartainer's CycleMax

Cleartainer's CycleMax

A company called Cleartainers has a neat product called CycleMax that is perfect for ‘big events’ like match days, tournaments, etc. I’ve seen them in use at soccer fields in Raleigh, NC. You can put them out for the event, then easily collapse and transport them to an equipment shed afterwards. They have a plastic lid with holes for cans/bottles, and the recycling goes right into a bag. When your event is over, they collapse and stack up in very little space. Very neat idea, though they seem prone to tipping over if you don’t stake them down. But the appeal is both the recyclables being put directly into bags, and people can see through the bags and see what they are intended for. Yes, some people still don’t get the whole ‘blue means recycling’ thing.

But then I saw the price. Are these people delusional? $50 for a plastic cap, flimsy metal stand, and ten bags? Plus you have to buy five at a time? Nobody in their right mind is going to pay that much for a mid size recycling bin. $50 will buy you a huge heavy duty blue trash can that holds three times as much, with a lid cut for recycling, and those are stackable to.

That’s unfortunate. Niche products do tend to have higher margins to ensure viability of a business plan, but that pricing is just insane. They have very nice permanent units too, with wire mesh bodies so you can still see the contents to reduce trash in your bins. They’re $550. Words fail me.

So if you’re looking to improve recycling at your fields, I’d save your money and buy some sturdy blue trash cans with recycle logos and covers with holes cut in them. They stack up, you can put bags in them, and with the money you’d save vs buying something like this, you can pay for a case of bags.