Lay’s to Use Empty Chip Packets to Build Sustainable Soccer Fields

(PRESS RELEASE) PURCHASE, N.Y. — Lay’s has announced a new global initiative, Lay’s RePlay, in which the snack maker has partnered with the UEFA Foundation for children and streetfootballworld to reuse empty chip packs to help create sustainable football pitches.

From the materials making the pitch to the installation, the pitches are designed to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. In partnership with GreenFields, a global artificial pitch manufacturer, the empty Lay’s chip packets are collected from local waste and recycling partnerships and given a second life – shredded and converted into pellets that form the underlying layer beneath the turf, called Ecocept.

Both the turf and Ecocept layer are 100 percent recyclable at the end of their life span. Beyond the turf, Lay’s has committed to adopt a carbon compensation strategy that will ensure all pitches deliver a net zero carbon footprint over their life spans of an estimated 10 years.

Up to five Lay’s RePlay football pitches are expected to open in 2021 around the world, with the first in Tembisa, South Africa, followed by communities in Russia, Brazil, Turkey and the UK.

This global initiative and commitment by Lay’s has been verified by independent consultancy, Good Business, with its study finding that Lay’s RePlay pitches have a significantly lower environmental impact than alternative artificial pitches across several areas, including: reduced greenhouse gas emissions, microplastic pollution, recyclable material and turf, ecological disturbance and water usage.