by Patricia McGeever

It’s the job of Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brent Suter to strike out hitters, but the Moeller High School graduate’s passion is to #StrikeOutWaste and save the planet.

“I watched a couple of documentaries in high school. An Inconvenient Truth was one that really stuck out,” said Suter. “I didn’t know the extent our society was causing damage to the environment.”

Suter knew he wanted to help make a change for our planet’s future, which led him to pursue a degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University. Now, he uses his Ivy League education and Major League connections to make a difference in the world.

“This is God’s creation. He gave us this gift. He gave us dominion over it [the earth], but that doesn’t mean we dominate it into oblivion by any means. We need to take care of this gift,” said Suter.

And Suter practices what he preaches. He, his wife, Erin, and 16-month-old son, Liam, work diligently to cut down the amount of garbage they put on the curb. They buy fewer food items with plastic packaging; drink from re-useable water bottles; buy locally-grown organic produce; and try to avoid eating beef. “We have solar panels on our house. We drive an electric car. We compost everything we can. We’ve gotten away from paper towels and napkins and have gone to all reusable cloth rags,” said Suter. “We use reusable grocery bags. We try to minimize our impact, turn off the lights, turn off the water, take shorter showers.”

His leadership in environmental action is taking hold at the ballpark, too. Suter launched his #StrikeOutWaste initiative to help his teammates reduce the amount of plastic they use at the ballpark and at home. He gave them each a glass water bottle to use in the dugout. Suter was there when the Brewers organization announced its joint project with SC Johnson to help cut down on plastic waste. Brewers fans who attend games can drop plastic cups into special recycling bins where they’ll be recycled to make bottles for the company’s Scrubbing Bubbles cleaner.

Suter is always willing to share his knowledge. He recently spoke to the Environmental Engineering class at Mt. Notre Dame High School (MND) in Cincinnati.

“I really think it’s neat to see how one person can make a difference with a good story and a passion and influence a lot of people,” said Todd Forman, community service director at MND, who invited Suter to speak. “He’s focused on doing what he can in his life to make an impact. He’s persistent and such a good ballplayer, too.

Suter is a fan favorite in Milwaukee, known for his goofy impressions. He returned to the mound late last season after a year-long recovery from surgery to repair a ligament tear in his left elbow.

“It was definitely a valley or a low point. I found a lot of peace through God during that whole process,” he said.

“When you get a treasured gift that somebody you love gives you, you don’t waste it. You try to preserve it and even pass it down to your family after you’re gone.”