Kia Oval vows to go single-use plastic free by 2020

Article posted by Coliseum, November 12^th, 2018

Image: MJR Group Ltd.

The Surrey County Cricket Club have promised to make the Kia Oval in southwest London a single use plastic free ground by the year 2020, according to a media statement on Kia Oval’s official website (green venue).

The ambitious vow follows a number of announcements for the 2018, including a ban on plastic straws being used in the ground, the introduction of compostable coffee cups and the phasing out of plastic bags in the club shop.

All beer served in public areas at the ground has been served in recyclable and reusable pint glasses since 2015 and over the next three years the club will work towards supplying all soft drinks in the same format. 2018 will also see the introduction of recyclable and reusable glasses in Members’ and hospitality areas of the ground.

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Besides, there are a wide range of other areas that will be worked on across the club and ground – with Surrey working alongside club partners in all areas of business to achieve this ambitious goal.

“The club has always been very conscious of reducing its impact on the environment wherever possible and, after a great deal of thought, has decided to make this ambitious commitment,” Surrey CCC Chief Executive, Richard Gould, said.

“Ever since the introduction of recyclable and reusable pint glasses in 2015, we have been introducing more sustainable policies around the ground – and the banning of plastic straws, introduction of compostable coffee cups and phasing out of plastic bags will all play a big part,” he added.

As a part of the commitment, Surrey CCC has announced to stock reusable plastic drinking cups to reduce plastic waste at the ground.

Fans who purchase a beer at a game will now be required to pay a £1 (US$1.4) deposit for their beverage, which will be served in a Stack-Cup – a handled drinking vessel emblazoned with the club’s logo – to encourage customers to return to the bar with that same cup. This will replace the previous single-use cups, which are thrown into a bin or discarded on the ground after use.

When the customer wants another beer, the used cup is traded for a clean one for each drink, and when finished they can either hand the cup back to reclaim their £1 (US$1.4) deposit or take the cup home as a souvenir.

With approximately 1.2 million pints of lager and ales being sold at the Kia Oval each year the launch of the reusable Stack-Cups could lead to a huge saving in plastic waste. It joins initiatives already in place at the venue including the banning of plastic straws and plastic bags and the introduction of compostable coffee cups and the recycling of coffee grounds into biofuel.

“Since we first brought them to the Kia Oval in 2015, we have found reusable pint cups to be an effective part of our plan to reduce our use of single-use plastic while providing a memorable fan experience,” said Gould. “Reducing our environmental impact is important to us and this agreement with Stack-Cup saves us from sending hundreds of thousands of plastic cups to landfill sites every year.”

In 2017, the Kia Oval partnered with Sky Ocean Rescue to hand out 20,000 reusable water bottles to fans attending the ground’s 100th Test. As part of this work, 20 new permanent water fountains were also installed at the ground.

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