Amidst the excitement and action of the Nike US Open of Surfing, fans will notice some new eco-friendly initiatives this year aimed at educating and encouraging beachgoers to become active in key environmental programs such as beach clean-up, recycling and clean water initiatives. The event, owned and produced by IMG, the global leader in sports and entertainment, along with key sponsors Nike, Hurley and Converse want to raise awareness, inspire activism, generate involvement and showcase that even in a crowd of thousands a single person has the power to drive real change in the world.With a crowd of more than 500,000 people expected, plastic litter on the beach has the potential to become a serious problem. Further to that, currently only 20% of single use water bottles are recycled. So the 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing will lead the charge in minimizing the effects of plastics and litter by running an on-site recycling store called TRASHed. The store will give out tokens for recycled items that can be redeemed for merchandise and prize packages. Additionally, the Hurley )(20 program will feature a watering station where clean water is free for all. Any person with a reusable water bottle can fill up at the watering station for the duration of the US Open of Surfing. Consumers can also purchase reusable water bottles and $1 of each purchase will go towards )(20's Waves For Water program that buys new water filters for those in need globally. A $1 filter is enough to provide clean drinking water to 100 people for a month. Converse will take part in the recycling effort with their Art of the Board program and have a recycling station for skateboards and skateboard parts on-site at the event.