Supporting Green Football Weekend - recycling

Tottenham Hotspur is proud to be supporting Green Football Weekend, a campaign to raise awareness of how individual action can take the fight to climate change.

In the lead up to Green Football Weekend (February 2-5), the Club will be highlighting steps fans can take to reduce their own carbon footprint in a number of areas, with the help of expert environmental journalist, Anna Turns.

In this segment, Anna shares how we can use the practice of recycling in order to reduce waste…

What the Club does

• On a monthly average, our stadium waste management programme equates to 16 cars being taken off the road, 151 trees being planted, and 27 typical UK homes powered - a total monthly average energy saving of 106,513 kWh.
• After matches, Dry Mixed Recycling bins are taken to a nearby Material Recovery Facility in Edmonton where the waste is separated to produce quality, single-stream materials that are then baled and sent to the most sustainable companies for re-processing.
• Dry Mixed Recycling bins are located throughout the stadium concourses, alongside General Waste bins, with fans instructed on how to correctly dispose of their waste.
• Zero waste to landfill across all sites.

Anna's tips

“I love this zero-waste mindset because it encourages us to stop and think before we buy, even if we don’t all want to live the minimalist lifestyle. When we purchase a product, we immediately become responsible for its disposal, so I’d much rather buy less and buy better to make sure my belongings really stand the test of time.

 “This is an important step towards a more circular economy whereby nothing gets wasted. Another great solution is to borrow or rent big ticket items that only get used once in a while - that keeps your cupboards decluttered too. Ultimately, less is more.

"The basic rules of zero waste are summed up well by author Bea Johnson - she famously reduced her family’s annual waste to fill just one pint-sized jar by following her ‘five Rs’ (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot). First and foremost, refuse and say no to single-use products to avoid them as much as possible. If something really is essential, reduce the amount you use and minimise waste, reuse items for as long as possible and when you really have to get rid of them, try to recycle or repurpose them wherever possible, or better still, let them rot in the compost."

Top tips

1. WATCH AND LEARN - Bea Johnson’s TED talk outlines her personal zero waste journey.
2. FIX IT - visit your nearest repair café to get help with fixing broken items, from toasters to textiles.
3. BORROW, DON’T BUY – find your local Library of Things or sign up to Fat Llama’s directory of lending.

Visit https://www.greenfootballweekend.com/ to take an individual action or pledge against climate change.