The Bucs are going green this season.

No, the team isn't bringing back the Green Weenie, the gimmick used to hex opponents in years gone by. But it is launching a major effort to become more environmentally friendly, from the front office right down to the players' locker rooms.

Fans will find 180 recycling containers, including 90 bottle-shaped receptacles, scattered throughout PNC Park to collect some 760,000 plastic bottles and aluminum cans used throughout the season.

Ushers will be waiting after games with bags into which fans can throw bottles and cans. And for added measure, the team will employ a "green team" to sweep the stands after games for any bottles and cans left behind.

The players will have to step up, too.

"Players and/or clubbies will have to find the receptacles that say bottles and cans as well," Pirates President Frank Coonelly said after a news conference yesterday.

The "robust" recycling program is just one of a number of initiatives announced by the Pirates as part of their "Let's Go Bucs, Let's Go Green" program, which was developed in conjunction with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading national environmental nonprofit organization.

"We're such a visible organization that we have a responsibility to demonstrate responsible behavior. We intend to do that," said Bob Nutting, Pirates board chairman.

That will mean banishing plastic foam cups (33,000 were used last year) and plastic forks, knives and spoons from PNC Park and its offices. Concessionaires Aramark and Levy Restaurants will use eco-friendly corn-based beverage cups to serve customers. They also will eliminate most nonbiodegradable material in utensils, plates, napkins and carriers.

Fans will even find a difference in the restrooms, where hand towels and toilet paper will be made from recycled materials.

In the front office, the Pirates intend to slash the 2.3 million sheets of copying paper used last year by copying on both sides. Likewise, all office paper, stationery and business cards will be made of recyclable materials.

The Pirates also will be installing motion sensors in 86 locations in the park and using more energy-efficient bulbs as others are replaced or in new spaces.

Although Pittsburgh is one of the nation's leading "green" cities, too many people still see it as a smoky, dirty town, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. Initiatives like the Pirates' will help to change that, he added.

The team launched its initiative the same day Major League Baseball and the Natural Resources Defense Council announced creation of a "Team Greening" program, with the goal to implement a "league-wide environmental protection strategy."

Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Defense Council, said the Pirates "are without a doubt among the most focused in planning an environmental initiative -- not only for their team and stadium operations, but the ownership has also showed itself to be progressive in broadening this work to other business relationships."

While the program will generate some additional costs, the Pirates believe it will end up being "revenue positive," Mr. Coonelly said.

The Steelers also have been involved in a program with the city to save grease to use as biofuel and to recycle bottles, cans, paper and cardboard. The Pirates have been recycling cardboard since PNC Park opened.