As 2022 moves along, 888poker endeavours to wake things up by joining the fight to Save Our Planet. The environmental threats to the planet’s future are real – and none more significant than the continued flagrant use of plastics.
Earth Day on 22 April this year further shed light on the obligations that individuals, governments, and businesses have to protect the environment.
888poker has been at the forefront of poker and a champion of the game for 20 years. 888pokerLive has become one of the most popular and prestigious live poker series, with events held globally every year.
Have you ever wondered what happens to the possibly hundreds of thousands of plastic chip bags from live poker events?
ECOSEC to the Rescue
You may not be aware, but those special tamper-proof chip bags used in live events often end up in landfills or waterways. These can be deadly to wildlife and create harmful emissions.
ECOSEC promotes and adheres to the belief that businesses need to consider not only threats from humans when implementing security solutions. The more pressing threat to security is from pollution – viruses, bacteria,
ECOSEC replaces essential security products with biodegradable alternatives where possible. Their cutting-edge new solutions help alleviate plastic pollution and mitigate the risk of business interruption.
Unlike conventional plastics, their biodegradable products decompose in approximately 2 years compared to 500 years.
How ECOSEC and 888poker Are Joining Forces
This year, ECOSEC are promoting a new initiative to help companies stop using conventional security bags.
The mission that 888poker has agreed to part of aims to replace one million standard plastic security bags within 12 months.
This project will also involve planting 1,000 trees and replacing 12 tonnes of plastic.
ECOSEC’s plan as part of this mission includes wildlife conservation.
For every 1,000 bags they supply, they will donate money to a chosen charity to plant one tree.
888poker will be doing their bit by replacing tournament chip security bags with ECOSEC biodegradable alternatives.
How Tamper-Evident Bangs Are Necessary
It would be great if the necessity for tamper-evident chip bags in poker tournaments were eliminated.
But that’s currently an impossibility based on the reasons why these types of bags are necessary:
- Prevents discrepancies in chip counts
- Helps with player ID for administration purposes
- Reduces the time needed to pack up at the close of each day
- Speeds up setting up at the beginning and end of each day
- Prevents the spread of viruses, bacteria & germs
- Promotes marketing and player offers
By switching over to the biodegradable versions of these tamper-evident bags, 888poker will help shine a light on how the poker industry can become more eco-friendly.
The Genesis of Poker Against Plastic Pollution
ECOSEC’s CEO, Karim Louis, likes to play poker. He came up with the concept of replacing regular chip bags with biodegradable ones after playing several poker festivals.
Read what he had to say:
“Poker Against Plastic Pollution came about after playing in several festivals and being fortunate to progress to Day 2 and, on rare occasions, to Day 3! Each time I was handed a bag, which is essential for securing poker chips and play an important part in the tournament organiser’s processes,
“I couldn’t help wonder how I could use my organisation to reach out globally and implement a biodegradable bag that sent a message across the industry of the importance of environmental awareness. I also noticed that some bags were excessively big for their purpose. Bags provided by banks, for example, are a waste of plastic and hence, a waste of energy in the manufacturing process.
“Some had no recycling information, which means that in some countries, they cannot be recycled and would be incinerated or end up in a landfill. Some didn’t even have the basic legal requirements of warnings to avoid suffocation for children.
“I started spreading the word amongst my friends in poker, and they started reaching out to their contacts. The response was positive, and there was hope that we could reach the numbers needed to manufacture efficiently and cost-effectively. The design of the bag began.”
Putting Our Best Foot Forward
888poker is one of many companies joining in the fight to save the planet from plastic pollution. Swapping out conventional bags for biodegradable solutions is just one of the many ways businesses can do more.
Karim Louis, ECOSEC CEO, had this to say about the bag’s design:
“The bag had to be bold in what it stood for. Players like to let their followers on social media know when they progress in tournaments and regularly post a picture of their bagged chips.
“Biodegradable text in a green font, messages to post pictures on social media and planting trees for every thousand bags used were included in the design.”
This opportunity for 888poker to put our best foot forward side-by-side with our competitors is a rarity.
Poker companies can work together on this project to positively affect the environment and make a real impact for change in the use of plastics.
