8 minute read
WASTE
Big plastic pledge
It is estimated that major sporting events can generate up to 750,000 plastic bottles apiece. More can be done to tackle waste. Thankfully, event organisers are at the forefront of change
Thousands of participants at this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon will be wearing a special bottle belt that is designed to carry a 250ml bottle of water. The bottle belts, which are made from more than 90 per cent recycled plastic, were designed by London Marathon Events (LME). Their use was trialled at the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon; they led to a 45 per cent reduction in the number of bottles used by each participant, as the belts enabled participants to keep their bottles with them, rather than discarding them after a few mouthfuls of water.
LME is encouraging all participants to run this year’s event using one of its new bottle belts to both reduce the number of touchpoints for participants during the event and to reduce the number of times a participant needs to stop at a busy drinks station on the route.
The bottle belts are also part of LME’s long-term commitment to reduce its impact on the environment, set out in its annual report called Leaving the Right Impression.
The report details LME’s sustainability goals, surrounding waste, emissions and supply chain. For example, in 2020, LME wanted to increase its overall recycling rate to above 60 per cent from 45 per cent in 2019. This was achieved at the Vitality Big Half and London Marathon elite event, which were held during the pandemic.
It’s just one example of the measures being taken by event organisers to reduce waste and build back greener.
PREVENTING PLASTIC POLLUTION
The Environment Agency in calling on sport organisations across the country to ramp up efforts to tackle plastic waste. New advice about reducing avoidable plastic waste at events and stadiums is being given to sports clubs, venues, and organisers across England as part of a drive to prevent plastic pollution.
Around 12 million tonnes of plastic enter our environment each year – that’s equivalent to a bin lorry load every minute. Of all plastic produced, 50 per cent is for single-use plastic items, which are used for only a few minutes before being thrown away. It is estimated that major sporting events can generate up to 750,000 plastic bottles apiece.
The Environment Agency has, therefore, created new Preventing Plastic Pollution guidance inviting the sports industry to address avoidable plastics by introducing water refill stations, minimising food packaging, providing more recycling bins and more. There is specific advice geared towards reducing waste in catering and at races and includes notes for organising teams as well as comms and messaging for participants.
The guidance also signposts people to the Big Plastic Pledge website – a global campaign founded by Tokyo 2020 Olympic sailing champion Hannah Mills – that aims to tackle the issue of plastic waste and eradicate single-use plastic in sport.
Hannah Amor, project lead within the Environment Agency’s plastics and sustainability team, said: “Experts tell us that 50 per cent of all plastic produced is for single-use items – things that are used for only a few moments and then thrown away. This is having a detrimental impact on our planet.
“The sports industry is in the unique position of being able to influence millions of people worldwide by leading the way in sustainability and setting a good example.
“By minimising avoidable plastic consumption, the industry can help reduce the impact of plastic on our planet, reduce its carbon footprint and contribution to the climate crisis – possibly saving money at the same time.”
All images: © Adam Warner/London Marathon Events
ELIMINATE WASTE
The new guidance discusses challenging suppliers, the waste hierarchy (avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle) and the journey/lifecycle of a plastic bottle. Plus, there are case studies detailing how organisations achieved their goals to reduce avoidable plastic, including an example from the New Forest Marathon, which replaced plastic drinks bottles for runners with cardboard cups which are collected and recycled. What’s more, runners dropping rubbish outside designated zones are disqualified for littering to communicate the importance to participants.
Andy Daish, director of ORA Events and event director of the New Forest Marathon, said: “Every organiser has a responsibility to protect the environment they use. Furthermore, we are blessed with a platform to communicate these key messages to those who visit the event.
“The New Forest Marathon is passionate about protecting the wonderful and diverse habitat and raising awareness of wider environmental issues. We work closely with key stakeholders to ensure we have zero impact on the local habitat, and hope the event plants a seed for wider behavioural change.”
Ceri Rees, director at Wild Running, organiser of Something Wild Trail Running Festival and the Wild Dart Swim, is encouraging its participants to take responsibility for bringing their own collapsible cup as part of their race kit to help eliminate waste.
Likewise, Barry Hopkins, director at Sporting Events UK, explained that the running events management agency has been using reusable timing chips, with low plastic content, and reusable signage. He said: “As an industry it is important that we use best practice to help each other and drive initiatives to reduce waste, in particular the plastics used. We continue to engage with all our suppliers to see how they can reduce waste in their supply chains and be more ecofriendly in their approaches.”
The new guidance has been produced on behalf of the Interreg Preventing Plastic Pollution (PPP) project, a crossChannel partnership of 18 expert organisations, which identifies and targets plastic hotspots, implements effective solutions and alternatives, and embeds behaviour change in local communities and businesses.
Massive task
The Massive Attack x Tyndall Centre’s Super Low Carbon Music Report: What does it mean for outdoor event organisers? Chris Johnson, chair of Vison: 2025, talks
In 2019, Massive Attack set out
to research and demonstrate low carbon touring. In the absence of touring due to the pandemic, the band has published an interim report, which offers “a roadmap that outlines measurable targets that the live music sector could adopt in meeting the Paris Agreement on climate change”. To keep global warming to well below 2°C, with a chance of limiting to 1.5°C, global emissions of carbon dioxide need to be about 45 per cent lower than they were in 2010 by 2030 and net zero in 2050.
The Super Low Carbon Music Report states that whilst there are many excellent examples of super-low carbon practices already happening, progress must be rapidly accelerated and substantial shifts in industry practice are needed. High level targets put forward include reducing emissions from buildings to zero by 2035; at least matching UK grid electricity emissions at outdoor shows by 2025; reducing surface travel emissions to zero by 2035. In this month’s column, I take a very brief look at what this means for outdoor organisers.
ENERGY TRANSITION The report calls for outdoor events to phase out diesel generators by 2025 and seek to “at least match the carbon intensity of the UK electricity grid going forward”.
National grid emissions are currently around 250 gCO2 per kW hour of electricity. Generators using diesel fuel produce 5-10 times more emissions per kW hour, varying based on efficiency. To meet this target, the industry needs a clear and realistic route to achieve 5-10 times less emissions, and to move away from diesel. Is this possible?
The Show Must Go On report reported that energy typically makes up 77 per cent of a festival’s on-site CO2e footprint and 20 per cent of surveyed events already use some biodiesel. It stated that a 50 per cent reduction in emissions is achievable for most events in the very short-term, making straightforward changes. It outlines a clear and detailed roadmap for outdoor event energy management, which combines demand reduction, new technology, and use of renewable fuels – in that order of preference.
The Tyndall Centre report supports the use of certified HVO fuels as an interim measure, but it sees grid connection (where possible) and new technologies as the future. Battery technology is quickly making its way to market, and the hope is that it will provide enough peak capacity for events and become affordable quickly.
Industry will need to work with all stakeholders to actively drive down demand though energy efficient equipment, achieve a new culture of detailed advance specification, enabling smarter system design, pay a premium for renewable fuels in the short-term and transition to grid and hybrid options as soon as they are available. It’s a tough trajectory, but one of the two key areas of action required of our industry, the other being travel and transport.
