SEATTLE -- As part of a promotion that surprised many Mariners fans Monday night, the team handed out 5,000 bags of Safeco Field soil, which were partially made from compostable materials collected at the stadium.
"Hey, as long as it's from Safeco," said Tess Schorr, who needs to plant a new tree. "Who else could say, 'Ive got a piece of Safeco Field?'"
Other fans were a bit more perplexed.
"Is this a joke?" asked Jon Baer. "I don't even know what I'd do with compost."
The promotion gives the Mariners a chance to educate fans about the importance of recycling. The team's recycling rate was 70 percent last year, said Scott Jenkins, vice president of ballpark operations. That's up from 12 percent in 2006.
"Instead of most of it going to a landfill, most of it gets recycled now," Jenkins said.
The team collected 900,000 pounds of compostable materials last season. Those materials -- which range from food scraps and utensils to peanut shells and grass clippings -- were sent to Cedar Grove Composting, which transformed it into soil for gardening.
"You don't throw it away, it doesn't go into a landfill," said Susan Thoman, outreach director for Cedar Grove Composting. "It actually gets made into something very useful and very beautiful."
By giving away bags of soil to 5,000 fans following Monday night's game, the team hopes to send a message.
"We're hoping to encourage people to recycle at home, at school, at work -- and when you come to the ballpark," Jenkins said.
The team plans to give away soil three more times this year: April 22, May 16 and May 30.
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