Adidas Made a Sustainable Football Field Using 1.8 Million Plastic Bottles

A typical turf field uses a ton of virgin plastics and re-ground rubber (read: waste). Adidas has decided to take major leaps in finding new ways to make the sport more sustainable. The brand has taken approximately 1.8 million plastic bottles and turned them into a sustainable football field. Vice president of global brand strategy for Adidas, James Carnes, told CNN that the sustainable field was made from plastic bottles from remote islands, beaches, coastal communities, and shorelines. The whole goal was to prevent these plastics from polluting the ocean.

The plastic was washed and treated before it was transformed into infill which is what was used to build the artificial field. The infill looks like pellets, and though small, it has a major impact on players’ performance and safety conditions of the field. For example, it acts as a cushion for players when they slide, dive or fall.

“We believe that through sport we have the power to change lives, and this field is a demonstration of our taking action on that belief,” Cameron Collins, the North American director of football at Adidas, said in a statement. “More than a place for these young athletes to play, it’s a reminder of our collective responsibility to end plastic waste.” The company donated the field made from upcycled plastic waste to Miami Edison High School, which is close to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, the site of Super Bowl LIV.