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Poker Against Plastic Pollution Biodegradable Chip Bags
- Poker Against Plastic Pollution Supplies Biodegradable Chip Bags
- Karim Louis talks to PokerWired about the campaign to reduce plastic waste
- Live Poker Operators Join the Campaign
Biodegradable Chip Bag from Poker Against Plastic Pollution
Biodegradable Chip Bags from Poker Against Plastic Pollution Reduce Disposable Plastic Waste Created at Live Poker Events
Poker is plastic, or rather much of the equipment used to play live poker is made out of plastic, or some sort of composite material involving plastic. Most of this equipment however is re-usable and chips, cards, chip racks and dealer buttons are not disposed after every event.
However, especially at large poker series, where most of the tournaments are multi-day affairs, there is a lot of disposable material used, in particular the bags that players secure their chips in overnight when play concludes at the end of each day of play.
One company which has decided to do something about it is Ecosec, a company which, according to their website, specialises is supplying "eco-conscious packaging products." They supply businesses from a wide variety of industries.
One of the product lines they have is linked to their campaign called Poker Against Plastic Pollution. The company is owned and managed by Karim Louis, an enthusiastic amateur poker player from London.
Karim has been playing poker recreationally for many years and during this time has tasted a little success, most notably a second place finish in the GUKPT Brighton Main Event in 2008 for £46,200.
It was at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour that I first Met Karim, as he had been a regiular on the tour in its first season in 2007, cashing in 18th place in the Brighton main event in 2007. The following year, in the same venue, he went on to take the runner-up spot, where he was defeated heads up by Julian Thew.
This remains Karim's best live result, but he has contiued to play recreationally ever since, achieving a few live cashes every year since he started playing.
When I bumped into Karim again at the Battle of Malta Spring Edition this year, I first found out about his recent venture into chip security. I spoke to Karim again recently to find out more about Poker Against Plastic Pollution and its goals.
Environmental Campaign at Live Poker Events
First I asked what prompted him to start this venture?
My journey into starting an environmentally driven business began around seven years ago. I aimed to develop a product that would protect food deliveries while promoting recycling through a strong marketing campaign.
adding
As my network, resources, and knowledge of tamper-evident bags expanded, I recognised an opportunity as a poker player to start an environmental campaign to serve live poker tournaments.
Karim then explained the overall goals of the campaign
Our campaign’s objective is for the bags to be recycled and repurposed, biodegradable bags provide peace of mind. If they end up in landfills or oceans, they will break down into tiny particles that microorganisms can safely consume.
Biodegradable Chip Bags
I then asked Karim to explain a bit more about the product and whether it is more expensive to produce that regular plastic chip bags?
Our products are made from plastic but contain an enzyme additive that accelerates degradation to a few years, instead of hundreds of years. Manufacturing biodegradable bags can cost up to six times more than regular plastic. One of the main reasons I was able to start this campaign is because I can leverage my existing products to supply the products lower than what my clients are currently paying.
Raising Awareness and Reducing Plastic Waste
As live poker is quite a small industry, I asked Karim if raising awareness of plastic pollution is more important than the waste reduction achieved?
Yes, the poker industry is small compared to others, but I believe that even small individual efforts can collectively contribute to repairing environmental damage.
But awareness is equally as important and the poker community is strong in this regard, as Karim notes:
The great thing about the poker community is that most players have a strong social media presence and following. Poker Against Plastic Pollution has its own social accounts and we encourage players to take photos of our bags and post them on their social accounts, hoping that their followers will notice our campaign and that we can raise environmental awareness beyond just the poker community.
Getting Opertators on Board
I then asked Karim how it easy it was to get the business up and running and how willing live poker operators were to switch suppliers?
The campaign has had an incredible start, and thanks to our clients, we've received numerous recommendations. Distributing our products across Europe and the rest of the world has become much easier now that we are producing larger quantities.
Battle of Malta Joins Campaign in 2024
The Battle of Malta used our bags for the first time earlier this year. The organisers mentioned they were aware of our product but were waiting to use up their existing stock before switching to our bags. I know this is the case for many casinos and poker operators.
Grosvenor Casinos Onboard Despite Cost
Cost is always a critical factor, and we understand that some casinos get their bags for free from banks. Grosvenor Casinos is a great example of making a difference, despite Grosvenor having access to free money bags from banks, they chose to work with us.
Karim further explains that many companies are committed at a corporate level to using environmentally sustaiunable products and that this cetainly has helped to get operators onboard, using the bags and supporting the campaign.
We are likely the only supplier that not only provides an environmentally sustainable product but also offers marketing support for our clients' events and champions their corporate social responsibility on social and business platforms. The unique offering definitely helps with getting budget approval if we’re not dealing with decision makers.
Live Poker Operators & Casinos Using Biodegradable Bags
The casinos and live poker operators who are currently onboard and using Poker Against Plastic Pollution chip bags include:
- PokerStars Live
- Grosvenor Casinos
- 888 Poker Live
- Dusk Till Dawn
- Holland Casinos
- Casinos Austria
- The Irish Open
- The Irish Poker Tour
- Dublin Poker Festival
- Fivebet
- Casino Malta
WSOP Chip Bags Create Over a Tonne of Plastic Waste Per Series
I asked Karim if the World Series of Poker, which does not yet use biodegradable bags, is in his sights to get on board?
We have made efforts to connect with The WSOP, and I am optimistic that we will supply them in the near future. Being associated with the pinnacle of poker would give our campaign global recognition.
So how many bags/weight of plastic does the WSOP each summer?
Karim estimates that with approximately 220,000 players participating in all the events, considering that around 20% of players advance to the next day of play, along with some events requiring chip bagging more than once, that about 60,000 bags would be needed to cover all 99 bracelet events. Karim adds that this quantity of chip bags would be equivalent to 1 (one) tonne of plastic!
Although in the grand scheme of things, this is much less waste than in other industries, it’s as much about raising awareness and the conservation message being spread further by players, e.g. when posting photos of bagged up stacks on social media.
Recent Main Event winner Jonathan Tamayo posted a picture of his chip stack at the end of each day of play, so did hundreds, possibly thousands of others during the seven weeks that the WSOP ran.
The reach that could be achieved for raising awareness of plastic recycling and responsible disposal of plastic waste would be a significant benefit of working with the World Series of Poker.
Will More Operators Join the Campaign?
Finally I asked Karim, apart from the WSOP, which other live poker operators are within his sights and targets to get onboard?
I will be travelling to Vegas and LA this year to promote the campaign and see if we can secure some orders with the casinos and card rooms. There are huge events in Canada too that we would like to engage with.
And the key targets are?
WSOP and WPT are top of our list and within Europe we hope to supply King's Casino Rozvadov, they have incredible numbers for some of their events.
What about smaller operators?
We will be delighted to offer our product to all sizes of events, as I mentioned, we can all play an important part in helping to protect the planet.
