Liberty Intercept Blog

Recycling Baseballs, Packaging, and Other Springtime Fun

Posted by Elaine Spitz on Apr 15, 2013 3:15:00 PM

baseballFor some of us it is that glorious beginning to a season where we are anxious to see how our team’s off season acquisitions will fare against the rest of the big league.  Others of us wallow in self-pity at Wrigley Field… either way I have always been captivated by the number of baseballs used during the course of an MLB.

In other sports, if the ball goes into the crowd it is returned to the playing field. In those sports, only when the game is complete is the ball launched into the crowd to become someone’s cherished souvenir. Baseball requires the ball to be replaced due to home runs, foul balls, and when they get scuffed up from use. There are more balls lost to scuffs than to any other cause. If you doubt me, watch the umpire between innings, when the ball boy runs out with his arms full off balls to replenish the balls that the umpire is constantly checking and rolling aside, most estimates for how many baseballs are used in a season are in the hundreds of thousands (depending on the source, it’s estimated that each MLB team uses 60 – 70 baseballs during a nine-inning game).These balls don’t get disposed of, they actually get sent to the minor leagues to be reused, and then after that they are relegated to lower and lower leagues. What initially seems as like a wastefully short useful life for a baseball is actually much longer than the average fan realizes. I am happy to know that, because after years of deconstructing baseballs I have learned how much goes into the making of a baseball

Along these same lines, investing in something that you simply throw out seems foolish. It is a waste of time and money. Baseballs that are “lost into the crowd” get a pass on this in my book, especially after seeing the look on a little kid’s face when he or she receives a game ball. So in a way, all baseballs have added value after their “15 minutes of fame” (I actually found an article that said a baseballs average use in the major league is closer to 8 minutes).

Many packaging supplies have only one cycle of use. This could be for a whole host of reasons. But one of the unique things about Intercept Technology ™ is that it is reusable, its protective properties are long lasting, and once you are done with it, it is recyclable. So, make like the Sox and make a winning acquisition, Intercept Technology.

Today's post is from the desk of Albert Greenhut, Director of Operations at Engineered Materials, Inc.

View Intercept Video

Intercept Technology Packaging products fit within a sustainability strategy because they are reusable, recyclable, do not contain or use volatile components (No VOCs, Not a VCI) and leave a smaller carbon footprint than most traditional protective packaging products.  

Topics: Intercept Technology packaging, innovation in packaging, recyclable, recycling packaging

Leave a Comment


Recent Posts


Posts by Topic

see all