The environmental impact

By Elly Henkes

Clubbing is great for everyone. Or so it seems. If all goes well on an average night, businesses do well, staff have a good time, clubbers have a good time and everything is great. But what about the bigger picture, the one that we don't always think about everyday before taking actions? Planet Earth and the environment that mankind is privileged to be a part of. When does the amount of waste from nightclubs start turning clubbing into one big environmental issue? Most nightclubs are far more focused on getting people through the doors and straight to the bar. It's the money coming in that matters - buying entry, buying drinks - the waste comes to be dealt with

later. A by product of busy nightlife, nightclubs dispose of 3 times as many bottles as city centre pubs, making them one of the biggest offenders. It's also worth noting that a lot of nightclubs function as restaurants during the day and generate food waste. Different counties in the UK have different systems of recycling, with councils varying their recycling collection policies, but many nightclubs rely on waste management solution companies to deal with what's left behind. That means that there's no default answer to the question of where glass and food waste ends up after leaving the club owner's responsibility. There's definitely a lot more that nightclubs could be doing to run sustainably and be considerate of the environment. Last year saw the Deltic Group, the UK's largest club operator, follow Wetherspoon in ditching plastic straws in favour of other materials. But it's not enough to clear the conscience of nightclub owners. According to Mark Hall at businesswaste.co.uk, nightclubs are the worst service sector when it comes to recycling. “A drive for lower staff costs means that corners are cut, and clubs send the majority of their refuse to general waste. To see what you can do to help, contact your local council to find out more about recycling and waste management in your area.