Arena addresses plastic waste with a new initiative at the 2018 Hong Kong Sevens.
The Hong Kong Sevens Village event that we own is making a concerted effort to reduce single-use plastics by 95% at the event. The key areas are beer cups (40,000 thrown away in previous years), plastic water bottles (30,000 sold last year), food vendors and contractors. This is part of longer-term plan to incorporate Arena into saving on disposable plastic.
Water Bottles
We have partnered with the water filtration company ‘Life Solutions’, who has sponsored 2 water filter stations and 5000 reusable metal flasks (attached) for the public. The flasks are purchased by the public at the bar for HKD10, paid as a deposit.
The water stations were installed on the first day of the site build and all contractors are being asked to use the flasks and the water. This is free to the contractors. The flasks also have a Carabiner clip so this is actually a useful way to carry water.
‘Stack Cups’
‘Stack Cups’ are reusable plastic cups sponsored by HSBC that will be used for drinks being served at the bar. Again, the customer puts down a HKD10 deposit and the cups can be returned for a full refund. This was implemented last year and 70% of the cups were taken away by the customer as they were a tasteful souvenir.
‘Food Vendors’
There will be 5 x food companies selling fast food. As part of the agreement with them, we ask them to commit to not serving any food with plastic utensils or plastic packaging.
Contractors
All contractors are asked to adhere to the no plastic water bottles policy and are provided with flasks and the filtration taps
Going Forward
‘Life Solutions’ have agreed to pursue other positive policies after this event. For Arena, we would like to store the filtration systems and take them to all sites and totally out plastic water going forward.
