Executive Summary
Churchill Container partnered with PureCycle and the Cleveland Browns with the intention of improving the recycling at their stadium and eventually introducing a fully circular food-service item in their concessions. Engaging fans in the effort was key, and fans love their souvenirs. This made the Browns collector cup series the perfect vessel for reinforcing the idea that the fan is a part of the recycling process, both in the stadium and in the surrounding community. These souvenir cups, made by Churchill Container with 100% recycled plastic, reinforce that recycling works and circularity can be achieved when we all participate.
Submitting Organization: Churchill Container
Detailed Nomination
The challenge? Traditionally, large-scale recycling at sports stadiums and venues has been difficult to execute. Primarily the items that do get recycled are bottles (PET plastic) and cans (aluminum). Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most used plastics in the world due to its versatility and a large portion of disposable food and beverage items are made of PP. In most stadiums, souvenir cups are made of polypropylene. Most traditionally recycled PP is not suitable for food-contact items like souvenir cups or containers, limiting circularity. (Traditionally recycled resin is used in paint cans, park benches, flowerpots, etc.) It has been historically difficult for sports organizations to find recycled polypropylene that is 100% post-consumer recycled and that can meet food safety, appearance, odor and processing requirements.
The solution? PureCycle uses a patented dissolution recycling technology to produce a high-quality rPP that performs similar to like-new plastic. Then the waste-hauler picks up, sorts and bales PP items from Browns games and sends them to PureCycle to be recycled. Churchill then purchases PureFive® rPP from PureCycle to produce the Run It Back™ line of cups and containers for sports teams and venues. This collaboration has proved that it’s possible to upcycle rPP back into cups/containers. This resulted in the Browns recycling 20-25 tons of plastics/aluminum each of the last two seasons. Churchill introduced the Run It Back™ line of cups and containers with up to 100% PureFive® resin in February 2025. The Browns used 100% PureFive® resin in their player line of souvenir cups during 2025-26 season.
