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Home > News & Events > Press Releases > 2005 > Minnesota Timberwolves Score One for the EnvironmentTimberwolves
December 8, 2005 - Minnesota Timberwolves Score One for the EnvironmentTimberwolves
DEC. 8, 2005 - MINNEAPOLIS - With superstars Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak and emerging talents like Rashad McCants, the Minnesota Timberwolves are giving their fans a lot of reasons to be excited about the 2005/2006 NBA season. But when they square off against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 10 at the Target Center, it's a unique new player that is sure to draw a lot of attention from fans - clear plastic cold beverage cups that are made 100% from field corn, not oil.
Made from NatureWorks® PLA, the new cups look, feel and perform just like those made from petroleum-based plastics. Because they are made from a renewable resource, however, the corn-based cups provide a variety of environmental advantages over those made from other plastics.
"Using cups made from NatureWorks PLA is a real 'slam dunk,'" says Timberwolves president Chris Wright. "It helps our fans enjoy the game even more this season, while helping preserve the environment for future generations of Timberwolves fans."
The plastic resin used to make the cups is manufactured by Minnetonka-based NatureWorks LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill, international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. The technology used to produce the polymer essentially harvests the starch stored in natural plant sugars. The sugar is then fermented into lactic acid, which is used to create a clear plastic called polylactide (PLA) that is formed into cups and other packaging.
To publicize the corn-based plastic cups to fans, the Timberwolves and NatureWorks are planning a variety of promotional efforts ranging from scoreboard announcements to messaging printed on the cups to signage in concession areas.
Through September 2006, approximately 175,000 of the corn-based plastic cups are expected to be used at Timberwolves games, as well as Minnesota Lynx WNBA games and other Target Center events. The cups are produced by packaging manufacturer Fabri-Kal as part of its Greenware™ line, which consists of various sizes of nature-based cups and lids. Aramark - the premier distributor for large scale venues - will supply the cups to the Target Center.
Timberwolves at Forefront of Nature-Based Trend
While the Timberwolves are the first major professional sports franchise in the Midwest to serve beverages in corn-based cups, the use of NatureWorks PLA is actually taking off around the world.
The material's renewable resource base and range of disposal options makes it an ideal fit for professional sports, concerts and other events that use a large volume of disposable plastics. NatureWorks PLA offers the most landfill waste diversion options of any current commercial plastic material - it can be physically recycled, industrial composted, incinerated, chemically converted or land filled.*
"Why use a precious, finite resource such as crude oil for products consumers use for only a few minutes and then throw away," asks Lisa Owen, global business leader for rigid packaging, NatureWorks LLC. "With NatureWorks PLA, the same cup can be made from an annually renewable resource and can be disposed of in a variety of manners."
NatureWorks PLA offers many other environmentally preferred benefits as well. Its production uses 68 percent less fossil fuel resources than traditional plastics and it is the world's first greenhouse-gas-neutral polymer. **
In addition to disposable serviceware, NatureWorks PLA is being used by leading brand owners and retailers around the world for a wide range of applications, including food packaging, bottles, labels and gift cards.
About NatureWorks LLC
NatureWorks LLC is a stand-alone company wholly owned by Cargill. Dedicated to meeting the world's needs today without compromising the earth's ability to meet the needs of tomorrow, NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available polymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with cost and performance that compete with petroleum-based packaging materials and fibers. The company applies its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer, which is marketed under the NatureWorks® PLA and Ingeo® fibers brand names. For more information about NatureWorks and its brands, please visit www.natureworksllc.com
* Composting is effective in industrial compost facilities, where available.
** Based on the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates by NatureWorks LLC.
NatureWorks, Ingeo and the EcoPLA design are registered trademarks of NatureWorks LLC.
™ Trademark of Fabri-Kal
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