Bristol Rovers F.C. has joined the call for an urgent ban on single-use plastic pint cups.
The English League One club is the first UK football club to support the Plastic Free Pint campaign, spearheaded by A Plastic Planet.
The campaign seeks an outright ban on plastic pint cups such as those used during music festivals and live sporting events.
Bristol Rovers has moved away from using plastic cups at its home ground The Memorial Stadium, switching to a more planet-friendly alternative.
All cold beverages will be served in paper cups, which will be collected and recycled following each game.
Rovers’ match against MK Dons today (04 Feb) will be the first game the club rolls out its paper cups to fans.
‘The Gas’, the name given to the Bristolian club, estimates this swap will mean over a tonne of plastic waste will be saved from being sent to landfills every season.
‘We are delighted to be working with A Plastic Planet and leading the way in working towards a plastic ban in sports stadia. Bristol is renowned for being a green city and was the UK’s first ever Green Capital in 2015.
‘It makes sense that Bristol Rovers should be flying the flag for the city and the environment. I’m sure our fantastic supporters will embrace this project and help us work towards becoming a plastic-free stadium.’
IAIN PATERSON
Head of catering, Bristol Rovers F.C.
The government recently announced plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene cups would be included in its single-use plastics ban from October 2023.
The ban seeks to end the impact of problematic and highly polluting plastic items and currently covers plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds.
Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, believes the government must extend its single-use plastics ban to include plastic pint cups.
Further support has come from more than 20 cross-party MPs in an Early Day Motion submitted to Parliament.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the largest beer trade association in the UK, has also pledged its support for the campaign.
‘We’ve all seen the unsightly scenes when thousands of plastic pint cups are left behind in the wake of a football match, music festival or simply in a beer garden, all likely to be dumped in landfill sites.
‘It’s great to see Bristol Rovers lead the way in supporting our campaign to end this needless source of toxic pollution. They are helping to showcase how alternatives can be easily used at fantastic sporting events. I urge clubs across the UK to follow their lead and help turn off the plastic tap.’SIAN SUTHERLAND
Co-founder of A Plastic Planet
Yonder polling found 89% of Britons want plastic pint cups banned in a bid to protect the environment.
75% of respondents also believe plastic pint cups ‘cheapen the experience’ of their favourite beer.
The polling coincided with an open letter signed by parliamentarians and figures from the beer and live entertainment industry, urging the government to outlaw plastic pint cups.
Globally, 500 billion plastic cups are used each year. If lined up end-to-end these cups would span 50 million kilometres – or more than 130 trips from the Earth to the moon.
In the UK, some 100 million plastic cups are used annually during music festivals and live sporting events.
Plastic pint cups are the sixth-most found plastic item in Britain’s rivers, and the eighth on the nation’s beaches, and MPs warned that these pint cups are ‘single-use items that will end up in landfill, in incinerators or directly in our natural environments.’
Collaboration between international NGOs coordinates efforts to tackle plastic pollution ahead of global treaty.
A range of polluting single-use plastics will be banned in England from October 2023 following government’s consultation.
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