Sky Ocean Rescue teams up with Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad to help knock plastic out the stadium as the Kia Oval take steps to becoming a plastic free venue
Broadcaster to promote refillable bottles in a bid to tackle ocean plastic crisis and make the Oval a ‘plastic-free venue’
England cricketers Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad may have had their feet up in The Oval dressing room yesterday as their colleagues helped steer the team to 171 for 4, but before play they were busy lining up a very different opponent to the touring South African team: ocean plastic waste.
The pair were the faces of broadcaster Sky’s latest environmental campaign, Sky Ocean Rescue, which this week aims to help make The Oval a ‘plastic free venue’.
The broadcaster is handing out 20,000 refillable water bottles over the course of the test, while 20 free water fountains have been installed around the grounds in a bid to dampen demand for single use plastic water bottles.
Sky said that currently less than half of plastic bottles in the UK are recycled, while the equivalent of four rubbish trucks worth of plastic are dumped in the ocean in the time it takes to bowl one over – presumably rising to five rubbish trucks worth in the event of a no-ball and a couple of boundaries.
Richard Gould, chief executive at the Kia Oval, said the stadium was committed to becoming “a plastic free sporting venue”.
“During the course of the 100th Test, we’re challenging our ticket holders to make simple behavioural changes that will have a dramatic impact on ocean health,” he said. “We hope by raising the issues with cricket fans we can work together to reduce the use of single-use plastics within our grounds.”
Sky Sports Cricket channel is also seeking to encourage viewers at home to ensure plastic waste is recycled by broadcasting a series of news reports on the issue of ocean waste during breaks in the cricket.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky chief executive, said this week’s activity was part of a wider effort to raise awareness of plastic ocean waste.
“At Sky, we want to use our voice and the potential of our reach to inspire people to take action to protect our planet by bringing to life our amazing ocean for millions of people across Europe, and discussing the solutions,” he said. “We’re delighted to be working with the Kia Oval on an issue which sits at the heart of our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign and support them on their journey to becoming a plastic free venue.
“This is also a great opportunity to drive home the issues with sports fans and underline the actions that can easily be undertaken to reduce our impact on the ocean.”
