As the world celebrates Earth Day today (Monday April 22), the spotlight is once again on the critical need to protect our planet. This year’s theme, ‘Planet vs Plastic’, underscores the urgent call to action against plastic pollution, a challenge that impacts every corner of our planet.
For Watford FC, this Earth Day holds particular significance as the club continues its journey towards becoming a leader in environmental stewardship within the sports industry. Recognising the detrimental impact of single-use plastics on the environment and biodiversity, Watford FC has committed to a single-use plastic policy aimed at eliminating such plastics from its operations and facilities.
Since the announcement of the policy, we’ve phased out various single-use plastic items like plates, stirrers, and bowls, opting for eco-friendly alternatives such as wooden cutlery and paper straws. Furthermore, we’ve recently initiated a stadium-wide rollout of recycling stations dedicated to plastic bottles.
Thanks to our fans, our efforts have already seen tangible results. Since the introduction of reusable plastic cups in 2019, fans have wholeheartedly embraced this initiative, playing a vital role in our environmental mission. Together, their participation has resulted in an impressive saving of 500,000 single-use plastic cups, equivalent to a staggering reduction of 40,625kg of plastic – a weight equal to that of 20 cars!
This achievement highlights the power of collective action and the tangible results that we can achieve through community engagement and environmental consciousness. But our commitment doesn’t end there. We’re dedicated to reducing and ultimately eliminating the use of all single-use plastic products across our premises.
In line with these efforts, we’re excited to announce the upcoming removal of single-use plastic bottled water from our training ground office canteen. Instead, we will install filtered water taps, providing a sustainable alternative that will save an estimated 23,000 single-use plastic bottles annually.
Our approach not only aligns with upcoming UK legislation but also demonstrates our proactive stance in addressing environmental challenges. We’re extremely ambitious in our goals to achieve a sustainable operation across Vicarage Road, the London Colney training ground, and our Trust centres.
We believe that our fans, stakeholders, and members of the community all have a role to play in protecting our planet for future generations. By uniting in this collective effort, we can make remarkable progress towards a more sustainable future for both our club and our community.
