Another year has passed at Trash Panda and I could not be more proud of what we accomplished, learned, and struggled through.
This time last year, I had no idea how much Trash Panda was about to change.
We were on the verge of moving into our new warehouse.
We were unaware of the problems that were waiting around the corner.
We had no idea how soon we would be making discs ourselves.But now, 365 days and countless hours at the machine later, our impact is greater than ever before.
It's not lost on me that the impact Trash Panda has had on the planet would be a tiny, unnoticeable fraction of what it is today without our team and you, our community.
This impact report shows exactly that: the positive impact we made together.
At Trash Panda, growing the sport sustainably is our mission.
At one point it was my dream.
Now it’s our reality.
All because of you.
Jesse, Founder
28,307+ POUNDS
Trash Panda has now diverted 28,307 pounds of plastic from the landfills.
That means we've over doubled the amount from the previous 3 years combined 🤯
To put it in perspective, that's roughly the weight of 9,436 toasters, 18,871 squirrels, or 2,264,560 marshmallows 😆
With three discs now in the world - the Inner Core, the Dune, and the Ozone - as well as adding our own in-house manufacturing capacity, we’re now diverting one pound of plastic from landfills every two and a half minutes.
Discs Made from What?!
Last year, we started asking the question:
"what other products are being made out of the same plastic as discs?"
The answer is fascinating 👇
The primary plastic that discs are made from - TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) - is an incredibly durable, high performance, and expensive plastic.
Needless to say, products made from TPU are products that need to stand the test of time.
And as of today, we’ve recycled plastic from the following four industries:
- Sporting Goods (Dune)
- Automotive (Inner Core Blue)
- Medical (Ice Inner Core)
- Agriculture (Ozone)
21,600+ DISCS RECYCLED
In 2023, we launched our Disc Recycling Program, because we had a hunch that individuals, retailers, and manufacturers had discs in need of recycling ♻️
And wow! You all delivered!
From dog chewed discs to beloved molds that were used for years to manufacturing defects from other companies to unclaimed-water-hazard-hauls at some of the most well known courses, we’ve recycled just about every disc you can think of.
Check out this YouTube video for more info about the program.
Certified B Corp
Becoming a certified B Corp was one of our goals from day one, and last year it happened!
At its simplest level, becoming B Corp is a designation provided by an outside entity that “a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.”
Little did we know, it would take a rigorous 7-month assessment that dove into every area of our business, including:
- Governance (policies, practices, mission)
- Workers (employee financial health, wellbeing, equality)
- Community (how Trash Panda contributes to the communities its involved in)
- Environment (environmental stewardship)
- Customers (the value we offer our customer base)
It was a long process, but on August 9, 2023, Trash Panda became the first ever disc golf company to be a certified B Corp!
5,137 Event Participants
Each year, we look forward to two events: the Disc Swap and Earth Day! 🌍
First, the fourth annual Holiday Used Disc Swap blew the last three years out of the water with:
- 4,490 participants
- 23 separate countries
- One ACE recorded with a disc from this year’s swap
To think, an estimated 10,000+ discs were given a second chance at life through the generosity of disc golfers around the world 🎁
Additionally, we ran our first ever Earth Day Bingo with UDisc, where we replaced the typical bingo numbers with challenges like:
- Pick up one piece of trash
- Use a reusable water bottle
- Hug a tree and apologize for hitting it
Our guess? Maybe ~250 people would actually win a “BINGO” and get a free disc and/or 1 year of UDisc Pro.
The result? 647 people from around the world took to their local disc golf courses to clean up tee pads, clear water hazards, and host course cleanups. They took on challenges like carpooling to the course, buying a disc locally, or keeping trash bags in their disc golf bag to have on hand during a round.
When we think about taking care of our planet, it can sometimes feel like too big of a project for just one person to do. And, it is.
But when we each take small actions within our communities like sharing a disc that would otherwise collect dust or picking up just one piece of trash, they have such a great impact.
Cheers to those who committed to these small actions 🍻
Cheers to you.
1% for the Planet
This year, Trash Panda closed our first year as a 1% For the Planet Partner.
What does that mean exactly? It means that we took 1% of all revenue during 2023 and donated to the following organizations:
- Ocean First Institute: Dedicated to improving the health of the ocean through research, education & conservation
- Kipahulu Ohana: Dedicated to the cultural sustainability of the Kipahulu moku in East Maui
- Ocean Conservancy: Working to protect the ocean from today's greatest challenge
What’s Next?
We’re proud of what we have accomplished to date, but our focus remains on the things yet to be accomplished.
In the coming years, we’ve got our eyes on some pretty big targets, and we wanted to share a couple with you so you can keep us accountable:
1) Finding a Recycling Solution for Hard to Recycle Materials
At Trash Panda HQ, there are a handful of things we use week in and week out that are hard to recycle products - like the back of shipping labels. To date, we have collected every single shipping label backing (we literally have a storage system for them in our warehouse) and some other hard-to-recycle-materials that we would like to find a recycling solution for this year.
Some of the products are “curbside recyclable” but as we unfortunately know, that doesn’t mean they will be recycled. So, at the rate we use some of these materials, we want to confirm that we’re working with a partner who will guarantee that the materials don’t end up in landfills.
2) Collaborating with another Disc Golf Manufacturer
Growing the sport sustainably will take all of us. As we like to say:
It’s not about someone doing everything, but rather everyone doing something.
In the coming years, we are looking to partner with (at least) one other disc golf manufacturer to make sure discs don’t end up in landfills and to continue to make discs out of recycled plastic.
3) The Big Goal: Carbon Neutral Certified
We’ve had our sights set on this one for a while, and it will take both time and money.
But we will get there.
From our HQ to our sourcing of materials to our business practices (commuting, travel, etc.) to our manufacturing energy usage, we are working to be carbon neutral in everything we do.
A major first step was in our shipping. For every single package that ships from our warehouse, we pay to offset the carbon emissions. (Fun fact: we actually went back and offset every package shipped from Jesse’s garage too.)
One step down. Many more to go.
We believe that everything we do matters. And the bar we hold ourselves to continues to be raised.
Thank you for making this possible.
And just think about it…
