If you'll recall, the Dodgers intend to "Think Blue and Act Green" with regard to the stadium in the future, and according to them, that means using recycled products in the renovations, as well as installing more efficient lightbulbs and things of that nature.  The press release about this indicates the Dodgers will "promote recycling," but there's no indication that the promotion of recycling involves actually providing a location for the fans (and employees, which I'll get to in a minute) to recycle the various containers they use for food and beverage items at the stadium.

While at the game on Monday night, discussing this whole situation, my friend Peg went down to throw away our garbage.  Of course, most of it was recyclable, but we obviously didn't have another option. When she came back, Peg told me about a big plastic relish jar that she saw in the trash.  I went down to take a picture, because we can talk a lot about the products that fans use that could be recycled, but I hadn't thought of all the stuff that Dodger Stadium uses just to provide us with those products.  How many of these relish jars (not to mention jars of onions, mustard, and god knows what else) do you think the stadium goes through every game?  There are obviously not even recycling options behind the scenes if these items are ending up in the trash, so that only furthers this problem and gets me more riled up about the situation.  Something has to be done about this.  I don't care about all the other things the Dodgers are claiming to do to help the environment; this is a big deal, and it's not acceptable to think that the stadium will continue to offer no solutions to the problem.

So, here we go. For the moment, let's operate under the assumption that the idea of providing recycling bins and getting them picked up is too cost prohibitive for the Dodgers.  The city probably wouldn't do it for free, because a 56,000-seat stadium is quite different from my sixteen-unit apartment building.  Okay, but after reading this article (hat tip to Dodger Thoughts for pointing me there) about the Dodgers exploring naming rights for the new renovations to the stadium, it's hard to believe they wouldn't be able to find a company interested in sponsoring a recycling program.  Find a company that wants the public to believe it's working on its environmental image, have them pay for the costs of getting the recycling picked up, and it's a win-win for all involved. It would be fitting to get a company that has its roots in Los Angeles, so here are some ideas:

• DirecTV.  They already have ties with MLB, and apparently have a deal to start an "MLB Channel."  They're based in El Segundo, so they are part of the community, but they're national and big enough to be able to afford a sponsorship like this.
• Hilton Hotels.  God knows Paris Hilton's parents owe us all a little something for subjecting us to their daughter's antics over the years.  So, what better way to make it up to us than by helping to save the environment?
• American Apparel.  They already fancy themselves to be good members of the community, since their claim to fame is employing workers here in this country, and paying them a fair wage.  They have been growing like crazy in the last few years, and the "American" just makes them sound wholesome, despite their slightly pornographic advertisements. 
• Mattel.  They're also based in El Segundo.  Maybe they could deck out the trucks that pick up the recycling (I'd like to think these trucks run on biodiesel) so they look like Matchbox cars.  Possible slogan: "The Dodgers don't toy with the environment."  I don't know, people.  I'm not an advertising executive.  My creativity only goes so far.
• California Pizza Kitchen.  They already sell their products at Dodger Stadium, so this one isn't a big stretch.  They're based right in Los Angeles, and the boxes their pizza comes in are recyclable, but they end up in the trash at every game.  We can get those boxes into a recycling bin, and wouldn't it be even better if that bin had a big CPK logo on it?
• L.A. Metro.  This one was Peg's suggestion.  L.A.'s transit system is currently running ads all over regarding the future of mass transit in this city, and a lot of the ad campaign is focused on a healthier environment.  If they could team up with Dodger Stadium to sponsor the recycling program, then perhaps we could also get a bus line to Dodger Stadium.  That solves a couple environmental problems in one fell swoop.  Sounds good to me.
• Movie studios.  Having worked in the entertainment industry for a while now, I can safely say that the movie studios waste like crazy.  They waste paper, they waste gas (transportation guys leave vans running constantly, and there are a lot of generators used to run the trailers), and they waste electricity.  It would be hard to offset that carbon footprint, but sponsoring a recycling program would at least be a start in the right direction.  We are not lacking for studios in this city, so start reaching out to Universal (which already advertises at the stadium, so this is probably the best bet), Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, etc.  See where it gets you.

Those are just a few ideas.  A search on Google for "Los Angeles based companies" leads to a Wikipedia page that features a whole bunch of companies matching that description.  There are probably even better ideas out there, but the point is that the Dodgers are not without options in the matter.

Of course, there are other possibilities.  I mentioned in my last post on the subject that Fenway Park has been using college students and other volunteers to collect recycling from patrons during the game.  There are also bins around the park to allow fans to recycle their products without the help of the "Green Teams."  The money the team collects from all this recycling will go toward buying solar panels that will heat 37% of the hot water at Fenway, according to this article.  That's big-time, people.  And hey, Fenway Park's program is called the "Poland Spring Green Team."  Poland Spring is a bottled water on the east coast, so it looks like the Red Sox found themselves a sponsor to get this stuff done.  Fancy that.  

The Red Sox are a team that is being proactive and doing something to help the environment.  I don't think the Dodgers can say the same right now.  I know McCourt probably shudders at the idea of copying something Fenway is doing, but it's a good system.  Consider a "Green Team" scenario at Dodger Stadium, where volunteers would collect recyclables and the Dodgers would collect the money.  

I read an article recently about attendance at Dodger Stadium, and mixed in is a story about fans who search for recycling in the stands and in the parking lot after games.  These fans are making a profit on their own by picking up what the Dodgers want to just send to a landfill.  So, if the Dodgers aren't willing to put out bins and work on getting the recyclables collected with volunteers or whatever, then what about letting the fans do it on their own?  Invite fans to come by after the game and go through the stands looking for cans and bottles, or even go through the trash to find those items.  The problem with that, Dodger executives, is that if you allow fans to do this on their own, other people would be making money due to your unwillingness to take care of your own mess.  I can't imagine you would want that to happen.  Right?