Tennis Australia’s projection of 100,000 reusable items washed at this year’s Australian Open (AO), exceeded its single-use waste reduction targets by almost 37,000.
Through a partnership between Sustainability Victoria and Tennis Australia, thousands of reusable cups replaced single-use cups at several bars at AO25.
With additional reusable cups, bowls and plates served by vendors in the Garden Square and Western Courts areas, 136,932 items were washed for reuse, nearly doubling the result from AO24.
During the three-week tournament more than 69,000 reusable cups were collected, washed and returned, representing 552 kilograms of single-use cups avoided.
Matt Genever, Chief Executive officer at Sustainability Victoria, said it is fantastic that so many people embraced the reusable cups at AO25, diverting waste from landfill and reducing their environmental impact.
“The simplicity of the model was key to its success. Patrons enjoyed their drinks in the reusable cups then dropped them at clearly marked collection points for washing,” said Genever.
“The reusable bettercups will also be repurposed for other events across Victoria, providing a long-term solution to waste reduction.”
Matthew Nicholas, Director of Sustainability at Tennis Australia, said the team is proud of the steps being taken to reduce single use consumption at the Australian Open.
“On top of the almost 137,000 single use items diverted from waste streams through the AO Reusables program, we recycled over 74 tonnes of glass and 64 tonnes of cardboard,” said Nicholas.
“We also tackled more challenging tournament-specific waste streams, sending approximately 16,000 tennis ball tubes and five kilometres of nylon racquet string offcuts to dedicated recycling pilots.”
For more information, visit: www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/
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