Environment Agency calls on sports industry to support Plastic Free July
The sports sector is being invited to mark Plastic Free July (1 to 31 July) with a ‘kick plastic out of sport’ social media campaign.
Kicking plastic out of sport during Plastic Free July
Campaign toolkits have been sent to over 100 organisations inviting them to raise awareness of environmentally-friendly alternatives to single-use plastic items.
The toolkit has been created by the Environment Agency’s plastics and sustainability team as part of the Interreg Preventing Plastic Pollution project. The aim is to embed positive behaviour change. Experts say that 50% of all plastic produced is for single-use items – items that are often only used a few times and then discarded, which may pollute rivers and oceans, causing harm to wildlife.
Environment Agency project lead Hannah Amor said:
Everyone has a part to play in minimising their avoidable plastic consumption and carbon footprint to help conserve the natural world.
Sport can influence thousands of people that may otherwise not engage with environmental issues. Three billion people watched the Tokyo Olympics. That is a huge platform to showcase sustainability and make it the new norm for people taking part in and watching sport.
We hope this campaign will encourage people from all walks of life involved in sport to take even the smallest step, like wearing a hydration belt or carrying a resuable cup. Collectively, changing our daily habits can make a huge difference.
The toolkit includes twice-weekly posts encouraging deposit return schemes, re-wearing old kit and avoiding single-use plastic waste at celebrations. The posts also signpost to new sustainability guidance for sports events, stadiums and community clubs, and encourage people to sign up to the Big Plastic Pledge - a global movement founded by Olympic gold medallist Hannah Mills.
The campaign will also run on the Interreg Preventing Plastic Pollution Twitter feed at @Plastic_EU, with the first post going live on Friday 1 July (tomorrow).
Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. It was launched by the Plastic Free Foundation which aims to see a world free of plastic waste.
Notes to editors
Environment Agency role
As a regulator, preventing waste plastic entering the environment by cracking down on waste crime and poor waste management is a key activity for the Environment Agency. As an influencer, it also has an ambition to promote better environmental practices that result in a reduction of plastic waste, helping to achieve the goals and commitments outlined in its five year plan to create better places for people and wildlife, and the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.
Preventing Plastic Pollution (PPP)
PPP is a €14million funded EU INTERREG VA France (Channel) England Programme project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund which works mainly across pilot catchments: Brest Harbour, Bay of Douarnenez, Bay of Veys, Test and Itchen, East Hampshire, Poole Harbour, Medway, Tamar, and the Great Ouse catchments.
Working in partnership with 18 organisations from across France and England, PPP seeks to understand and reduce the impacts of plastic pollution in the river and marine environments. By looking at the catchment from source to sea, the project identifies and targets hotspots for plastic, embeds behaviour change in local communities and businesses, and implement effective solutions and alternatives.
Partners are the Environment Agency, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Queen Mary University of London, LABOCEA Conseil, Expertise et Analyses, Syndicat mixte établissement public de gestion et d’aménagement de la baie de Douarnenez, Office Français De La Biodiversité, Parc naturel marin d’Iroise, Brest Métropole, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Counseil départemental de la Manche, Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer, The Rivers Trust, Syndicat de bassin de l’Elorn, ACTIMAR, Brest’aim, Westcountry Rivers Trust, South East Rivers Trust, and Plymouth City Council.